I’ve talked to a couple people lately about time management.
When you think of time in relation to our Proverbs series, ask yourself, “What is the wise thing to do right now with my time?” Do you ever think about where your time goes?
A couple years ago at the Youth Winter Rendezvous we did an exercise that had you rate how much time you spent on things. If you were to do it now, my guess is that sleep and school are pretty high up there, and church and godly things might be kind of low (in comparison). But wait… doesn’t the Bible tell us “seek ye first the kingdom of God?” Yep.
Seeking God first in things (or, staying on the “path” of wisdom) should influence your schedule. You will put important (eternal) things first in your life.
My wife and I were talking the other day, and we sort of concluded that if our kids were ever involved in anything—soccer, school plays, chess club, anything—that caused us to say, “I hope we can make it to church tonight,” they just wouldn’t go.
Our stance might seem hardcore, but I think church will always be better than soccer practice. I used to leave soccer practice early every Wednesday night to be in church. I’d change in the car on the way to church, and I would benefit because of it. Sunday tournament games were never even a question. There’s no chance I’d be going, because I was going to church.
So, time management is about telling your time what you’re going to do with it. Homework to do? That’s okay. Don’t ignore it. Don’t just fail all your classes and think you’re somehow “righteous” because you went to church instead of studying for your test. No! Just manage your time better. Study in the 4 hours between school and church, and the 2 hours after church before bed. Study in the morning before school. Here’s a thought… study a little bit every day so you don’t have to cram. *gasp!
Time management makes room for the most important things in life. What’s important to you will get done. I’m just here to say: Make your spiritual life the most important. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”
– Bro. Ryan