Our 1st Gift To Manage: Time -- Part 3

Continued from yesterday September 20...

Are you ready for something that might sound like weird advice about time?

King Solomon the wisest man that lived said this in Ecc. 7:2-4...

"2 It is better to spend your time at funerals than at festivals. For you are going to die, and you should think about it while there is still time. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. 4 A wise person thinks much about death, while the fool thinks only about having a good time now."

That doesn't mean we should always think about death and be depressed. It's to help us wake up and not sleep walk through life!

God’s word teaches us to look at the end and make sure we know where the path we’re currently taking is going lead us.

Looking at our death can change the way we see things NOW!

From my Church Gatherer blog June 19, 2006…

In one of success "guru" Brian Tracy's latest issue of his "Time Management Success Newsletter" titled, "Consider The Consequences" he says this...

"Doctor Edward Banfield of Harvard University, after more than 50 years of research, concluded that "long-time perspective" is the most accurate single predictor of upward social and economic mobility in America.

"Long time perspective turns out to be more important than family background, education, race, intelligence, connections or virtually any other single factor in determining your success in life and at work.

"Your attitude toward time, your "time horizon," has an enormous impact on your behavior and your choices. People who take the long view of their lives and careers always seem to make much better decisions about their time and activities than people who give very little thought to the future.

"Successful people have a clear future orientation. They think five, ten and twenty years out into the future. They analyze their choices and behaviors in the present to make sure that they are consistent with the long-term future that they desire.

"In your work, having a clear idea of what is really important to you in the long-term makes it much easier for you to make better decisions about your priorities in the short-term."

Hmm... That sounds like Solomon might've known what he was talking about! :)

Keeping the reminder that one day your life will end will help you make better and different choices NOW!

Imagine you were on your death bed looking back at your life…

• What would be important to you? What wouldn't be?
• What would you wish you did today? What would you wish you didn't do?

God’s overall instructions to us about time are this…

Eph 5:15-16 says...

"15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil."

In Psalm 90:12 the Psalmist asks God…

"Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom."

Time can’t be stopped. It can only be seized!

God’s word teaches us to cherish and squeeze everything we can out our time.

Mark Twain said this, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

This moment could change all the ones after!

How many lost hours have we wasted?

I saw this quote from Steve Mariucci, former 49ers head coach on Glen Davis’s blog…

“I never wear a watch because I always know what time it is. It is always NOW. And now is when you should do it.”

Continued tomorrow: How to invest your time....