"The phrase “Redeeming the time” comes from Ephesians 5.16. That’s where the Apostle Paul told the church to make the best possible use of their time “because the days are evil.” Paul made a direct connection between the evil in his society and the need to redeem the time.
Sometimes the most discouraging part of my day is reading the news. Things that a few short years ago were universally recognized as sin and abomination to God, are now fashionable and glamorized. Their full embrace is now mandated by governments hostile to Christian values. Someone noted that if God doesn’t bring judgement to our country He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.
The point is this- as we see the moral free fall around us, we are bound to get discouraged at times, but we don’t stay there. We use the presence of increased evil around us as motivation to make a difference, or as Paul put it, to “redeem the time.”
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"This morning I observed a father give his 4 year old son a tablet loaded with games to keep him occupied while he met with a Bible study group in a restaurant. I commented to my adult daughter who was with me about how effective the one eyed baby sitter was at keeping the little fellow quiet for an hour.
When the Bible study was over, I watched as dad rejoined Junior and received the excited report of all he had accomplished during the Bible study. Then it dawned on me that one of the attractions of video games is the sense of accomplishment they deliver, which is fine… if you are four years old.
What’s sad however, is an adult man I know whose greatest accomplishment each day is getting to the next level of his video game. He is deceived by his addiction to false accomplishment.
The Apostle Paul said when he became a man he put away childish things. He knew false accomplishments didn’t redeem the time.
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"I recently read of a successful businessman who was asked if he ever felt fear when taking on new projects. His response was very insightful.
He explained that any time he sensed a fearful of failure, he would harness that energy and turn it into a fear of regret. That is, he would choose to focus his fear on the possibility of looking back and realizing he didn’t do what he could have done to achieve his full potential. He explained how successful entrepreneurs take action when the fear of not doing something overpowers their fear of actually doing it, and the fear of future regret forces them to take action.
I thought of how well his observation harmonizes with the Christian life. How often does God prompt us to share the Gospel with someone or launch a new avenue of ministry, but we remain paralyzed by fear of failure.
Next time that happens, fear instead the regret you will experience at the end of life when you realize you’ve failed to redeem the time.
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"“Whatever you do, give it 100%. Give it your best! Go all out and be the best you can be at everything you do!” That’s great advice for people who want to redeem the time right? Wrong.
While that kind of talk may sound inspiring, it’s really half-baked nonsense from someone who has never had their ideas challenged. You should not and cannot give 100% to everything you do.
I clean my car by throwing away the trash while I pump gas and having the kids hose it down a couple of times a year. I don’t give 100% to that cause because it isn’t one of my goals to reach the end of my life with a spotlessly clean car. But, when I speak for a convention to inspire a crowd of people to redeem the time, I’ll give it 110% because the results matter both now and in eternity.
Remember, you can’t give everything 100%. Discerning what things to give 80, or even
20 percent to, will redeem the time.
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