"Decisions, decisions, and more decisions. They come at us rapid fire all day long. By the end of your day you will have made hundreds, if not thousands, of little decisions which add up to how you’ve spend your time that day.
To make the best decisions we have to decide how we are going to decide in the moment of decision. Author Alan Lakein says we can default, drift, dream, drown or decide.
Many people default to what they’ve always done without thinking. Some drift, floating along with whatever happens to happen. Others dream. Instead of focusing on the matter at hand, they convince themselves there is something more important to do and they procrastinate their day away. Many drown, never having a plan in place to help them make quick decisions. They are always behind and snowed under.
God’s way is none of the above. Godly decision making is based on Biblical principles of right and wrong, and fulfilling God’s call for your life. It’s the way to redeem the time.
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"The automatic transmission in my van is starting to slip. I also have a minor toothache. But I am not planning to remedy either of these situations on my own. I am planning to delegate both of those tasks to others.
I think of myself as a reasonably intelligent and well educated person. I am confident that if I tried long enough and committed enough resources to it, I could figure out how to fix a transmission or a tooth. But common sense tells me I need to delegate the solving of both of these problems because the expenses and learning curves are just too costly.
These delegation decisions are no brainers. But other times, we need to plug in our brains and ask, “Is this really what God wants me to do with my time right now?” Maybe you have a stubborn software issue or a messy plumbing repair. Sure, you’ll eventually get it. But in the meantime, you may be missing better opportunities to redeem the time.
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"It’s important to understand that we are not earthly people going through a temporary spiritual experience. Rather, we are eternal, spiritual people going through a temporary earthly experience. There is a real difference between those two perspectives.
If our primary focus is on the temporary earthly experience, our thoughts and use of time will be focused on earthly things as well. The cares of this life and the many things that trouble us will be magnified and their significance greatly exaggerated when we think of ourselves as primarily earthly but with a spiritual component.
On the other hand, when we think of ourselves as primarily spiritual, but having a temporary worldly experience, it puts things in perspective for us. We realize that trials and tribulations are also temporary.
Also, when our focus is on the fact that we are eternal beings having a temporary earthly experience, it helps us schedule our day so that spiritual disciplines take priority. It gives the frame of reference needed to redeem the time.
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"What are you fascinated by? By that I mean, what really gets you excited and holds your interest for blocks of time. What do you like to talk about? What would you like to learn more about?
The answer to that question is important because what fascinates us controls our discretionary time. We gravitate toward fascinating interests whenever we can, because they are, well…fascinating to us!
The Apostle Paul, from the day of his conversion forward, had a growing fascination with knowing Jesus Christ. He told the Philippians that compared to knowing Christ and being identified with Him, everything else in life was like garbage to him.
Maybe you can’t honestly say your fascination level is as great as that of Paul. If not, remember that fascinations can change over time. We can consciously grow our fascination with some things while lessening it with others. If you want a growing fascination with Jesus, spend extra time with Him today. You will be redeeming the time.
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