Using Our Time Wisely
If you didn't hear last week's messages, we are getting some inspiration from a man named Bill Wilson - a doctor and an explorer on some expeditions to the Antarctic in the early 1900s. And Bill Meaker told me that this biography of Wilson's really showed him a lot about how to live the Christian life. I read it earlier this year and really enjoyed it.
Valuing Time
And today I want to talk about how Wilson valued time. Listen to these words on page 70: “His sense of the value of time was equivalent to most person's sense of the value of money. For money he had never had concern except to do with as little of it as possible. But time was a free and sacred gift to be spent up to the last minute of every day. He himself lived three days to most people's one.”
And then there’s this excerpt from his diary, where he talks about the people who do menial jobs for other people, and he says “for those of us who are fortunate enough to have somebody else clean or cook or fetch or deliver stuff for us,” he says “how precious the extra time is that their tasks give us. And he says "how awful it will be if we find that all that extra time they gave us was wasted on our own pursuits when we could have done such good things for other people with all the extra time we've been given."
In fact, this reminds me of Paul's words in Ephesians 5:15-16 where he says "Be very careful how you live, not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.” In other words, your time is short and so live well. Don't live in an unwise way, live in a wise way. Use the time that you have to make the most of every opportunity.
Resting in God is Good
Now, of course, there's a time to play and a time to work. Of course, all work and no play makes Jack good a dull boy. So I'm not suggesting you just burn yourself out and never rest. In fact, rest is a good way to spend your time if, you're connecting with God in the way that you rest.
But perhaps today we can think about how we're spending our time in the week ahead. Are we going to be making the most of every opportunity? Are we like Bill Wilson, going to live three days to other people's one and do as much good as we can? Or are we going to spend all of our time just on our own pursuits?
God has gifted you a new day and a new week. Go and live it to His glory and make the most out of every opportunity.
