Tracking Your Time for the Glory of God
Originally published on May 22, 2018. Edited for republishing on the Walnut Blog on January 2, 2019.
A Call to Make Every Minute Count for the Glory of God
Last year in 11th-grade Sunday School, my co-teacher, Chris, had the students complete a time inventory. They were instructed to write down approximately how many hours a week they spent on any given activity. There are 168 hours in a week. Where do all of the hours go, and how do they add up in the end? This would help assess if they are using their time with wisdom. It was a given that hours needed to be dedicated to school, eating, and sleeping. Free hours included extra-curricular and entertainment. Of course, it was recommended that we spend time at church on Sunday mornings, invest in fellowship, and prioritize personal devotions.
A Critical Evaluation of How I Spend My Time
For my own personal assessment, I saw how I dedicate time to exercise, but I do not equally emphasize spiritual disciplines. I saw how easy it is to give an inordinate amount of time to friends while not investing in family. I also acknowledge that I am selfish with my time, wanting to be by myself and with my books without thinking about blessing others. Can I honestly say that I am too busy and I don’t have enough time to do all of the things that I need or want to do? After coming home from a long day at work or a full day of church ministry, it’s easy for me to justify using my time in any way I want. But I know in my heart that’s not how I should live.
A Challenge to Make Disciples by Dedicating Time
Making disciples means dedicating time to people. Social media and infrequent interactions cannot replace the physical presence of a friend you can confide in. One way I plan to use this new perspective on my time is to better balance the time I spend with my music teams. I usually lead a devotional for the high school music leaders before we begin the night, but it sometimes gets pushed to the back due to my poor planning. Moving forward, I want to make our time spent in Bible study and prayer the highlight of our rehearsal. Managing our time well means we can prioritize hearing God over hearing ourselves. And it gives us more opportunities to make disciples because we can eliminate distractions.
A Call to Present Your Bodies (and Your Time) to God
If I have been bought with a price, then I must glorify God with my body. That includes how I spend the time in my body, making the most use of it because the days are evil. And since life is a vapor, I should not be wasting any small amount of time I steward. I will be called to give an account for the time that I have spent sowing or not sowing gospel seeds for the kingdom of God. Does that mean I can’t rest or relax? No. God made us to sleep and there are seasons to retreat. But it might mean that by the grace of God, I should work hard, giving my head and my heart to God. I challenge you to do your own time tracking and see where you stand. Present your bodies (and your time) to God. And this is your spiritual service of worship.