Not too long ago USA Today pulled together some experts to figure out how much time was needed for the necessities of ever day life. Those experts said you should:
- Sleep for 7.5 hours.
- Exercise for 30 minutes.
- Spend 45 minutes for personal grooming.
- Allow 1 hour for cooking/eating.
- Spend 1-2 hours housekeeping and chores.
- Work 7-10 hours.
- Grocery shop for about 20 min.
Now, add to this the time they said should be spent with spouses, children, reading, etc., and the total comes to 42 hours. Ok, wait a minute - there is only 24 hours in a day so, how is it possible to get it all done? That’s the point - it is impossible to get all done that we want to do.
So, where does this leave us? With the obvious observation that we all have to make choices all day, every day of our lives. We must prioritize our activities, our needs and our desires. While all of these things are important to some degree, it’s obvious that some are far more important than others. This is where the words of the Apostle Paul to the brethren in the church at Ephesus really fit into this discussion. Listen to what Paul told these brethren in Ephesians 5:15-16 where he said, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”
There are a lot of serious things we must all deal with in our lives. Putting food on the table for our families, insuring we have a decent place in which to live and funds with which the bills can be paid along with providing decent transportation and other things. But, we must all understand, no matter how important all of these things are, there is nothing more important than our relationship with God. Our lives here are lives of “probation”. We are here for the express purpose of preparing ourselves for that day when we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10). The only thing that will matter on that day is did we listen to and obey Christ in what He said in Matthew 6:33 where He said, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.” If we truly did put God first above every thing in this world, we will have nothing to fear standing before Christ.
Until next week, I love you all,
Dan
(Basic thoughts here borrowed from House to House, Heart to Heart).