This post is fourth in the Psalm 127 series "Live Like a King."
~ ~ ~
It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows.
~ Psalm 127:2 (NKJV)
For some years now, I've considered myself a pauper of time. Lack of time for loved ones truly grieves me. Whether the checkbook has required me to pinch pennies or allowed me to indulge, I've often spent dollars and sense in my attempts at buying time.
Like many people, buying time includes saying 'no' to some things, employing as much efficiency and simplicity as possible, multi-tasking, hurrying (a sickness, I've learned), and forfeiting sleep. And even when I should have time left over, unexpected circumstances seem to steal it back.
The race is not to the swift …
Nor riches to men of understanding,
Nor favor to men of skill;
But time and circumstance happen to them all.
~ Ecclesiastes 9:11
"Buying time" with mere sense is as possible as buying dollars with cents. If traveling at a-mile-a-minute-plus and owning labor-saving devices gains hours, shouldn't industrialized nations be more relaxed and third-world countries more pressed for time? Though a person can have more money by either working harder to earn it or spending less to save it, can more time be obtained except by spending less?
*sigh*
There are twenty-four hours in the day to be had. Sleep is not optional.
Period.
But.
To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven …
[God] has made everything beautiful in its time.
~ Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV)
Not one of us is truly a pauper of time. God gives each of us enough. We simply spend it on the wrong things and have too little left over for the right things.
What's really sad is that I know well the way to have enough time. It's the same method to have enough money.
Give all of it away. To God. He owns it anyway. It's only when we think of time or money as our own that we waste it in the wrong places. Remembering that we are His stewards helps us make the right decisions with both.
I happen to believe in tithing. God's always been given the first tenth, and the other nine have always proven to be enough. Back in the days when I consistently gave God the first two or three hours of the day (at least 2.4 out of 24 was my intent), the remaining ninety percent of my time felt far less scanty.
Along the way of "doing for God," my firstfruits of time spent simply being with God got compromised. Nothing's been as right since.
"Wealth consists not in the abundance of our possessions but in the fewness of our wants."
~ Unknown *
True for a pauper. True for a king.
True of material wealth. True of time.
Lord, I love You so much. Time spent with You has never, ever been wasted. It's saved me untold squandered hours. Please help me—help all of us—to spend more hours with You and be rich in time.
: : :
* This is evidently a paraphrase of words by J. Brotherton:
"My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions but in the fewness of my wants."
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Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
"A pauper of time" ...Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI like the jump of giving God our time. We are pretty good about handing him our money, our talents, and our family -- but we hold a tight grip on to our time
Please forgive me, David, for the long time in replying to your welcome comment. As a recovering hurrier, I'm trying to adjust to getting everything done without feeling like a pauper of time. It's taking a while to achieve balance. By God's grace …
DeleteThis is so true, appreciate your honest heart sis. I love you.
ReplyDeleteDenise, thank you for calling me honest. I try to be transparent, but only as may edify others or exalt yours and my precious Lord. Love you!
DeleteI'm totally with you, Anne. Ready to stop making excuses and truly honor Him with my time. Doing things in His name is no substitute for really knowing Him. I want to know Jesus! Thank you for the great, "timely" reminder.
ReplyDeleteJason, I wish I was as timely with the things in my life as I know God can truly make them. I am a work in progress. Thank God He never takes down the "construction zone" sign and says "good enough." : ) Thanks for the Friday Hit List mention. You're a gem!
DeleteAwesome post. I'm guilty of thinking like a pauper of my time... Losing sight that isn't mine to begin with. Thanks to Jason for linking this up.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Floyd, for visiting and taking from the post what God would give you. I'm praying that God will show you a new way this week to see time as His. Blessings!
DeleteWonderful post! I know I don't spend enough time with my Lord, and I don't even make any excuses anymore because I know time is not the issue. I know I have been given enough time by Him. I have often thought of spending time with Jesus in relation to eating. We would never say we simply did not have enough time to eat today, so why would we not equally feast on the Lord and His Word. I know this all too well....maybe a reminder is what Jesus has ordered in my life.
ReplyDeleteYou know, Mary, that I believe these words and fail to live them out. You know, too, that my heart is to live this way, as I know yours is. I pray that God will give us both a new vision of how to use His time this week. I love you! xxoo
DeleteI love your perspective, and the reminder of the blessing and promise of putting God first with the use of our time. Thanks for your insights and encouragement.
ReplyDeleteTom, it's really cool to catch up with you here. I appreciate your comment, and your willingness to accept the reminder I need more than anyone.
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