"A bachelor made it his practice to have a special breakfast every Saturday morning by dining on a meal he called “deluxe Italian cheese toast.” He found his warmed over Friday night pizza was much more palatable that way.
What you call your food can make a difference. For example, some families practice having a “character meal” once a week. It’s a very simple and inexpensive meal of only one item and water to drink. This meal saves money but it also saves time. Having rice, beans, or soup means only one pot to clean up, less time deciding what to have, and everyone being served quickly.
A character meal is also good for the character it develops in those who partake of it. Scripture gives parents many commands to shape the character of their children. That includes teaching them to eat whatever they’re given without being catered to. That’s what makes “character meals” a great way to redeem the time.
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"One of the main reasons we waste so much time is we simply don’t have the motivation to do the things we know we ought to do. Perhaps you’ve seen motivation illustrated as a man on a donkey dangling a carrot in front of the donkey’s nose, with a whip in case the carrot doesn’t work. It’s a good picture of both positive and negative motivation, both of which we all need at times.
When you lack motivation to spend your time wisely, remember how large the stick and carrot become in light of eternity. The carrot is Heaven- spending all of eternity in the direct presence of God, in a perfect place free from sin, sadness, or pain. That’s powerful. But an equally powerful negative motivation is hell. It’s not politically correct in most churches to even mention hell today, but it’s still in the Bible and it’s still real.
Remembering that someone’s eternal destiny may depend on how carefully you listen to God gives motivation to redeem the time.
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"I recently read of a missionary who was reviewing his life and those who had given him advice down through the years. He said:
Amongst many who sought to deter me was one dear old Christian gentleman whose crowning argument always was, “The cannibals! You will be eaten by cannibals!” At last I replied “Mr. Dickson, you are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms.”
I thought that little story gave an excellent example of someone not focused on preserving his life at any cost in order to have more time in this world. His focus was instead to use whatever time God gave him to advance the cause of Christ, and that’s the right perspective for anyone who wants to redeem the time.
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"Our family was watching a video last week about predatory animals. One of the most interesting parts was about cannibalistic animals, that is, animals which eat their own kind. The most extreme example was a cannibalistic snake which has even been known to even eat itself.
I thought that snake was a perfect picture of how some people live. They spend so much of their time and energy biting at others they eventually become consumed with a bitter spirit, which ends up eating away and destroying their own soul.
Perhaps you aren’t as mean as a cannibalistic snake. But are you quicker to serve those in leadership or criticize them? Have you ever really taken inventory of how much time you give to others vs. how much time you spend doing what you want to do.
The Bible warns us against letting a root of bitterness defile us. Let’s heed that warning by serving, not slandering, our leaders, which is a much better way to redeem the time.
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