Where Did the Time Go?

As Christians, we know we’re called to be wise stewards—of our treasures, our talents, and our time. But while it’s relatively easy to determine if we’re wise stewards of our treasures and our talents, how does someone know if they’re a good steward of time? 

Think about it. Time is different from our treasure and talents. Both money and abilities can be managed and increased. You can create more income. You can increase and learn new talents. But time is a fixed commodity.

The great author and pastor, AW Tozer, wrote, "Time is a resource that is nonrenewable and nontransferable. You cannot store it, slow it up, hold it up, divide it up or give it up. You can't hoard it up or save it for a rainy day—when it's lost, it's unrecoverable. So when you kill time, remember that it has no resurrection."

Time, as author Kevin Kruse writes, is "the great equalizer." Every person has 168 hours per week and 24 hours per day. No more and no less. This truth should compel every Christ-follower to make sure they are doing the best they can with the time they have.

Stewardship of time can be more commonly referred to as "personal productivity”, and the Bible has much to say about productivity. Here are six lessons from Scripture we can apply to how we approach the stewardship of time.

1. Doing "good works" is how God describes being productive.
Look at Ephesians 2:10: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we should walk in them." In 1 Timothy 6:18-19, the apostle Paul says, "Command that they do good, that they be rich in good works, generous, willing to share, and laying up in store for themselves a good foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of eternal life."   

There could be the tendency to categorize "good work" as a spiritual act or something that is out of the ordinary. But 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whatever you do." So good works include everything we do when we do it to bring glory to God and as an outflow of our faith in Jesus.

2. Being productive brings glory to God.
In Matthew 5:16, Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven." The way we invest and steward time in pursuits that advance God's Kingdom on the earth glorifies God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 echoes this when Paul writes, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 

3. God created man to be productive.
Look at Genesis 1:28: "And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" God's very first commandment to man was to be fruitful—God created man and immediately set him to work.

4. Productivity is important to God.
Ephesians 5:15-17 says, "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." We see here that wise people, or wise stewards, make the best use of time, and unwise people waste time. God's call to us is always toward wisdom. Paul says in Colossians 3:23-24, "Whatever you do, give it your very best as if you were working for the master and not for human beings. After all, you know that you're going to receive the true inheritance from the master as your reward! It is the master, the king, that you are serving." God rewards wise stewardship of one's life.

5. Laziness only makes life harder for others and is inherently destructive.
In Proverbs 18:9, we read, "A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things." Merriam-Webster defines lazy as "disinclined to activity or exertion." Proverbs 6:6-11 has some good advice for a lazy person: "Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber."

6. Productivity should flow out of thankfulness for God's grace to us in Christ.
In Titus 3:4-8, it says, "But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of rebirth and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, being justified by His grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you constantly to affirm so that those who have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to everyone." Because of all that Jesus has done for us and because of His great kindness, our response should be to steward our time doing things that are good and "profitable."

In making a plan to steward time in practical ways, here are three things to consider:

First, give the first of every day and the first day of the week to God. Every day, start your day by spending time with God through reading the Bible and prayer. Give the first day of the week to God by making Sunday the day you return to God. That could mean, at minimum, attending church, serving others at church—anything where you’re spending time in biblical community.

Second, be generous with time. What are some ways to give your time without expectation of anything in return on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis? Maybe it’s serving at a homeless shelter or volunteering to tutor kids to read. Perhaps it’s getting involved with a local cause that means something to you. Or maybe you give a week annually to go on a mission trip or volunteer at a kids/students camp.

Finally, remember that all time you have here on earth is given to you by God—so please don't waste it on trivial things. Instead, learn how to best manage yourself within the confines of the 24 hours per day that you have. King Solomon stated it profoundly in Ecclesiastes 3:1, "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven."

More In God We Trust? resources can be found here.