Time is rarely stolen from us. Except perhaps in the cases of kidnapping, wrongful imprisonment, or being detained without cause, time is never stolen from anyone. Instead, I propose our time is, for the most part, either given away or sold. We all have the same number of seconds available to us each day. We choose how much of our time will be given away, and how much will be sold.
Every day we are charged to steward the time allotted to us in a way that honors God and furthers His mission and His Kingdom. If we are not vigilant, we will squander the time entrusted to us or sell it in exchange for our comfort, entertainment, and security.
Selling some of our time is necessary in order to provide for our families. This cannot be avoided, but we must be careful about how much of our time we are willing to sell and be very mindful of the actual cost of selling it. If the work we do to earn a living opposes the Kingdom or in any way tarnishes the image of Jesus, we should find another job. Sure, there is an argument to be made about being light in a dark place and I realize I am painting with broad strokes here. But our time is limited, and we must not so easily sell it in exchange for what does not build the Kingdom of God. I am convinced we will indeed answer directly to Christ for the things we purchased with the time entrusted to us. Don’t sell out for that which dishonors our King.
Perhaps more deadly still is the time we simply give away. We can not even claim to be nobly acting on behalf of our families by selling our time to ignoble causes because when we give time away, we get nothing in return. Mindlessly watching television, surfing the web, being engrossed in social media, or scanning for the latest videos on YouTube do nothing to further the mission of Christ. All these things do is provide a steady stream of dopamine to keep us sated and numbed. Is this what we want to tell Jesus we did with the precious time He entrusted to us?
There is a third option and it is the most excellent of all. We can choose to invest our time, relinquishing a little of it now for a far greater reward in the future. Better than exchanging our time for money and far better than simply giving our time away for free, investing our time yields a return that will multiply what has been entrusted to us. When we invest our time in discipling another, we will exponentially increase the work being done for Christ. When we invest in telling someone else about Christ and what He has done for them, we can see a soul forever saved, snatched from the clutches of Hell. What a wonderful way to invest our time!
What are you doing with the time God has entrusted to you? Are you selling it for a high price, affording luxuries you never dreamed possible while finding little to margin left over to build God’s Kingdom? Are you squandering your most precious resource in mindless entertainment and meaningless activity? Or are you investing wisely, using the time given you to increase God’s Kingdom and further His mission? What will you say to Jesus when He asks what you did with all your time?