"My grandmother died when I was quite young so I have very little memory of her. But one of them is a visit to her house when I was about four. I remember it because grandma cut my grilled cheese sandwich corner to corner, instead of down the middle like my mother had always done. The shock of seeing a diagonally cut sandwich was so great, I refused to eat grandma’s grilled cheese.
The problem that day was not the diagonal cut, but my inability to distinguish what mattered from what didn’t matter. While we might expect that trait from a four year old, that same inability keeps many adults from reaching God’s full potential in their lives.
As you consider the possibilities for spending your remaining hours today, there are probably one or two high payoff activities you should focus on. But the devil’s program is to distract you from them with things that just don’t matter. Being aware of that fact should help you redeem the time.
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"Two bachelors were talking when the conversation went to cooking. ""I got a cookbook once,"" said the first, ""but I could never do anything with it.""
""Too much fancy cooking?"" asked the second.
""You said it.” Replied the first guy, “Every one of the recipes began the same way, 'Take a clean dish and...'""
The bachelors would have done a lot better to invest in disposable cooking methods. If you don’t like scrubbing a baking pan, line it with aluminum foil before baking or just use a disposable aluminum pan and throw the whole thing in the recycle bin when done.
Line the bottom of stove pans and ovens with foil. It’s a lot quicker than scrubbing and scraping.
The Old Testament laws had a lot to say about cleanliness, long before germs were ever thought of by man. Just as with those bachelors, it probably seemed like a waste of time to some people. But the health benefits of cleanliness, definitely redeemed the time.
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"Many concepts of personal finance are easily applicable to the study of time management. One of them is the idea of gain vs. loss.
If you own a business, you hope that at the end of each day, your business will be worth more than it was at the beginning of that day. If you sell enough of your product or service to cover your expenses and then some, you have a gain. If not, you experience a loss.
As Christians, we receive a given amount of time each day. How we chose to invest that time will determine whether we end the day with a spiritual gain or loss. As God brings us opportunities to share the Gospel, bless our family and friends, or otherwise make a contribution to building His Kingdom, we either make a gain by seizing the opportunity or experience a loss through neglecting it.
How would you like to end your day today? Do something right now to add to your spiritual profit column and redeem the time.
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"I recently read an article by a man who was asking his 80 year old aunt about her golden years of retirement. Her answer was quite insightful.
She said the real “golden years” are between the ages of 40 and 60. That is when you are generally physically fit and have your wits about you. The family is growing and you are still important in the lives of your children and grandchildren. Those around you still look to you respectfully and value your insights and advice. No one worries about you driving to the store and getting lost on the way. If you take a fall, you are less likely to do serious damage such as breaking a hip, a real fear that many in their supposed ""golden years"" face each day. When you wake up, your first thought is not what pills you need to take but what new possibilities this day might hold.
God has a plan for every stage of life. Don’t wait for your golden years to redeem the time.
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