Redeem the Time

Ephesians 5:15-16 - "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil."

It's good for us to pause once in a while and consider how we are spending our time. sometimes we don’t even realize how much time we’re spending on something until we sit down and really think about it. Have you ever documented how your time is spent in a regular day? 7 hours sleeping, 8 hours working, 1 hour driving, etcetera. It's very eye opening to have it all written out, and doing something like this will help us discover what changes need to be made in how we spend our time.

Life is short. When I think about my life here on earth in comparison with eternity I realize that my life is indeed "a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." That "Man at his best is a mere breath." Life is short, what are you living for? We can either invest our time in the things of this world or we can invest our time in things that are going to last forever. We hear a lot about planning for the future, the problem is that most people who talk about this subject of planning and investing for the future are too short sighted. We hear about making investments that will keep us secure for the rest of our lives, but what about after that? If you are only thinking about your time on earth up until your death then you are shortsighted and foolish. We need to invest our time in things that will last forever. We need to invest our time, our energy, our resources, in things that will last beyond the grave. 

1 Corinthians 10:31 says - "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Is this possible? Is it possible to live our lives in such a way that God can be glorified in 24/7 until I die? I mean, we have to do things like sleep and eat and go to work or school, so is this even possible? We tend to subconsciously compartmentalize the things that we do into two categories, the sacred and the secular. If I wrote down everything I did in a single day and then split it into these two categories I would write things like "Bible reading" and "Prayer" on the sacred side of the page, and things like "Going to work" and "sleeping" on the secular side of the page. This is how we tend to think, but God makes no such distinction. He erases the line that separates one side of the page from the other. You’ll notice that in this verse He doesn’t say, “Whether you read your Bible or pray or whatever you do…” He says “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Are you telling me that it’s possible to eat lunch to the glory of God? Yes! That’s exactly what this is saying. God doesn't see our lives in two sections, He sees the whole thing as one, and He expects us to live the whole thing for His glory. 

This means that we need to be good stewards of the time that God has given us, and do all that we do for His glory. When I go to work I can do my job to the best of my ability, as if I'm doing it for God and not for man. When I eat a meal I can eat it with thanksgiving and good manners. And in living our lives in this way, with a constant God consciousness we can bring glory to God. 

Now, I have to tell you that there are things in my life that, it doesn’t matter how hard I try, I can’t do them for the glory of God. If I sit down to watch a television show or play a video game that involves things that God hates, such as taking the Lords name in vain, lying, stealing, murder, immorality, I cannot watch it or play it to the glory of God. Anything that cannot be done to Gods glory should not be a part of our lives.

Time is a very important thing. How we spend our time on earth is going to impact eternity. The things that are done for Gods glory will last forever. The things that are done for self or temporal pleasure or satisfaction are going to only last for a moment and then be gone forever. 

Eternity is going to keep going. It doesn't end. In perspective of time, your life isn't all that long. We have a very limited amount of time on this earth, and we can either spend our time pursuing things that will bring satisfaction and comfort right now or we can live our lives pursuing those things that will last forever. We can have such an intimate, devoted, loving relationship with the Lord that will last forever, and if that is our pursuit and our focus right now then we won't get caught up in the things of this world. The things that we do for ourselves right now, the comfortable lifestyle, the earthly pleasures, all of it will to perish with time. "The world and it's desires pass away." But the things that are done for the Lord are going to have eternal benefits. We don't have a lot of time here on the earth, so it's important that we heed the instruction given in Ephesians chapter 5. Be careful how you walk, not as fools but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. Don't waste your time on things that are going to perish with time. The worlds value system is so messed up. According to the worlds standards there is nothing more valuable than gold, and we are constantly hearing about how we need to invest in gold, but do you know what I read in the Word of God? When talking about the kingdom of heaven in Revelation 21 we read - "And the street of the city was pure gold." The thing that is considered most valuable by the world is pavement in heaven. So in reality, investing in gold is the equivalent of investing in gravel. Gravel is worthless, we drive on it, we walk on it, we certainly don't invest our time and energy pursuing it, and it is just as foolish to invest your life in worldly riches or anything else that will pass with time. We can define value by how long something will last, and there are only a few things that will last forever. The first is God, so we need to spend our time drawing closer to Him every day, growing in a deep, intimate love relationship with Him. Are you more in love with God today than you were a year ago? A month ago? Are you more in love with Christ than you were yesterday? How are you spending your time? The second thing that will last forever is directly connected to the first, and that is the Word of God. The psalmist said in Psalm 119:72 - "The law of Thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces." If given the option, which would you choose? The psalmist recognized true value. Gold and silver will perish with time, "but the Word of the Lord abides forever." God is of ultimate value, therefore anything that draws us closer to Him is truly valuable. A third thing that will last forever is people. God loved the world so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die in our place. Do we value the souls of men like God does?

We are constantly presented with choices about how we are going to spend our time, and when we are presented with the choices we subconsciously do a cost benefit analysis, whether we realize it or not. And the result of this analysis is very telling. It shows what we truly consider to be valuable. For instance, as soon as my alarm goes off in the morning I am presented with my first choice of the day, and what I truly value will determine my choice. I can either turn my alarm off and go back to sleep, or I can get up and spend time talking to the Lord and reading His Word. The first option gives temporal, immediate satisfaction and comfort, the second has a value that we might not see right now, but one that will last forever. And I can't even tell you how hard this choice is to make. Too many times I choose the wrong thing because my value system is messed up. It is so hard to look past what is going on right now and set my mind on eternity, but that's what we need to do. We need to ask the Lords help to value what He values. Did you know that there are unsaved people who will get up early in the morning and go running, or go to a gym to work out? They recognize that it is more profitable for them to do this than to get an extra hour of sleep. They recognize that their body will be profited by that exercise even though it would be easier and more comfortable to just stay in bed. People do this for physical fitness and strength, but these things are only for a season, they will pass with time. We as Christians are given the opportunity to do something that has eternal value, how can we be so shortsighted to not take advantage of it? Everyone makes choices and our choices show what we value. What to your decisions say about your values? Do you value the temporal or the eternal? 

In Hebrews chapter 12 we read of a man who couldn't see past the temporal. He was so blinded by what was right in front of him that he gave no thought to the things that were truly valuable. In Hebrews 12:16-17 we read - "That there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears." We often hear about how foolish Esau was, but how often are we just like him? How often do we sacrifice something of eternal value on the alter of temporary satisfaction? What is a birthright, can I eat it? All I know is that I'm hungry now, and if giving this birthright away means that my belly will be full, then so be it. What a tragic mistake. In Philippians chapter 3 we read of the enemies of the cross of Christ, and the description that is given of them in verse 19 is this - "whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things." Don't be a slave to your appetite. I believe that one of the greatest enemies of the church is shortsightedness. It can rob us of so much. Don't trade the eternal for that which is temporary. Ask God to help you set your mind on things above and to help you value what He values.

The Lord is going to ask you to give account for the time that He gave you here on earth. He is going to ask "What did you do with the time that I gave you? Did you squander it on things that are now gone, or did you invest it in things that will last forever?" We are His stewards, our time is not our own. We will give an answer to Him for how we spent it. 

Psalm 90:12 - "So teach us to number our days, that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom."