Growing up in my home a common phrase was said at the dinner table, “starving people would be excited to eat those green beans”. What my mom was trying to express was that I was blessed and that it was foolish to waist anything. Is there anything worse than waste?
Wasting food, personal talent, creative ideas is sad, but what is worse is when you waste time. Each day provides the gift of time, time to spend with God, to spend at work, to spend with family and friends. See we say that we “spend” time which implies that you and I exchange our God given time for something.
So what do you exchange your time for? Do you exchange it with laziness, selfishness, or addictions? Our devotions can often keep us from investing our time in efforts that will out last our own personal lifetimes. Because we don’t realize the value of what we are exchanging our lives and time for we often pack each day with as much as possible. But we don’t stop there, we also put more on our lists than we could do and turn the speed dial up.
Like in a bad Keanu Reeves movie we must slow down to make the right time exchanges. So how do we slow down? Let me tell you it’s not clearing your schedule – that’s a superficial band aide and usually you can always find replacement activities very quickly. No, instead you have to deal with the root issue of why are you so driven.
You need to ask yourself some very frank questions
Will having more make me happier?
Will doing more make me happier?
Will having more activities make me happier?
The answer is no – it will not – we must deal with our discontent.
(Proverbs 14:30) “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”
You cannot be relaxed and envious at the same time, so today and for the rest of your life you need to ask God for peace and be willing to change as He requires you to stop the push for more. Are you willing?
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