Do not waste your time ...

Monday, March 4, 2013. Did you ever get the advice, not to waste your time? Recently, I got that advice. It made me think! What about you? How would you react? Where are you wasting your time?

A waste of time …

When we are relaxing in the sun - are we wasting our time? When we are doing sports, is that a waste of time? When we are playing, was about that?

I like watching movies. That can be a waste of time - depending on the movie and depending on how often I have seen it already … But leisure is not a waste of time. It can be a waste of time to work too much! You do not get enough out of it when you work too much, you are wasting your time.

So you can waste your time when you do the wrong things, those who do not help you or make you happy or which are not sustainable. But nothing in this world is sustainable - everything we have we will lose at some point in the future (which might be quite close). So why not catch the moment and enjoy it, for all the remaining moments of our life. Is that a waste of time or is it not?

What God tells us …

**

In 1 Timothy 4 we are told not to waste our time with ungodly things. We are told not to waste it with stories which do not lead anywhere. We are told not to waste it with pointless discussions. But an alternative is given! That is a crucial point. There is a real alternative: the living God!

The biblical position is that everything which is not carried out “in the Lord” is a waste of time. God invites us to faith. He invites us to a life “in Jesus”, where the Holy Spirit comes to us and fills us with his goodness and peace. With this we are “in him”. And then, in faith, life makes sense. Here we have come to the eternal Lord. We should not waste our life with worldly things which will not last, but use it for eternal things, which will last.

You might ask: perhaps the worldly things are worth it? Then that might be a reason to do them. But when you look into the “heavenly things”, you will find that they are just fantastic - and the world without him is nothing, but with him it is everything! Every day without him is a lost day, a wasted day. A day with him and in his presence gains, it is a day full of purpose and joy. ... more texts