An obvious fact you come to embrace as you get older is that you will never get this moment back. We know it to be true on an intellectual level all our lives, but only the passing years allow it to come to relevance. This has profound implications not only in our physical lives but even more so in our spiritual growth.
Each moment is our one shot to maximize it for His glory. Every moment we decide to live for God or live for ourselves. His Word tells us we will have to give an account for every idle word and, by implication, every thoughtless moment. (Matthew 12:36; 2 Corinthians 5:10) We can’t live life on autopilot and expect to receive the reward of eternity with Christ.
It’s overwhelming to think what might have been if I had embraced this truth earlier in life. How many moments, hours, weeks, and years did I squander, never contemplating the finiteness of time? How many people did I miss sharing the gospel with and perhaps playing a small part in changing their lives forever? It’s painful to think about, but as we discussed in “When Will You Live for Jesus?” there’s nothing we can do to get those moments back. All we can do is focus on the moment at hand and determine whether we will spend it in honor of God and to glorify God.
Once we decide something in the present, we may regret that decision in the future. We must give careful consideration to what we choose to do in this moment because moments never live in isolation. If I decide to watch a movie with my wife too late in the evening, it means I’ll get to bed late and won’t be able to get up on time the next morning. That means I’ll lose my prayer and study time, which leaves me in a foul mood and hampers my productivity for the entire day. Every decision we make carries more weight than we realize at the time because each decision cascades into multiple ramifications.
Every moment we spend or waste doing anything besides what God calls us to do is a moment wasted. Waste enough moments, and you waste your life. Our time on Earth is very limited and can end at any second. (Psalm 39:4-5; James 4:14) There are no guarantees of another breath, much less another day. (Luke 12:20; Proverbs 27:1)
Be careful how you choose to spend your time now because you will never get this moment back. Is what you are about to do going to add to your eternal reward or just bring you a little pleasure or satisfaction in this life? Our focus at all times should be on eternal things, not on things of this world. (Colossians 3:1-2; 2 Corinthians 4:18)
This moment matters because we’ll never get this moment back. It’s not just gone; it’s wasted. How will we explain to the Lord why we threw away the time He gifted to us? That’s not a conversation I want to have! Think about that before you spend another minute on the trivialities of this world. (Ephesians 5:15-16; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) Does what you are about to do (or not do) come from an eternal or earthbound perspective? We are not of this world and should not waste our time entangled in the cares of this world. (John 17:15-16; 2 Timothy 2:4) Don’t waste this moment, because you will never get it back.