Stewardship, part 3

A very popular song by Jim Croce is entitled “Time in a Bottle”. The basic theme of the song is the inevitability of the passing of time and the irretrievable nature of time itself; once it’s gone, it’s gone. There’s no turning back the clock.

Therefore, in his book Investing Time, John Goestsch declares and questions us: “In life there is nothing more consistent than the passing of time. We attempt to slow it down and even at times make it stand still, but it is undeterred, steadily marching onward. Benjamin Franklin said, “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that’s the stuff life is made of.” Time is irretrievable. You cannot repeat it or relive it. In life, there is no such thing as instant replay. The minutes that travel with us each day have eternity wrapped up inside them. How are you using yours?”

The wise or foolish use of our time is a matter of stewardship, isn’t it? We are all given 24 hours a day to use wisely or to squander. So, how can we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and body with respect to our time?

James 4:14 instructs us, “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

The Psalmist prays in 90:12, ““Teach us (instruct) to number our days, that we gain a heart of wisdom”.

Faithful stewardship of the time we’ve been given is reflected in the following principles from Ephesians 5:15-18:

1)    Be careful how you live – intentionality; prioritizing the kingdom of God

2)    Redeem the time – seizing the opportunities that God presents

3)    Know the will of the Lord – love relationship with the Father in obedience to him

4)    Be filled with the Spirit – under the control of; walking in the Spirit

The conclusion we can draw from these principles to guide us in the faithful stewardship of our time is this:

Faithful stewardship in life is about living from a God-glorifying, Jesus-loving, and Holy Spirit-filled orientation to life and exercising a God-glorifying, Jesus-loving, Holy Spirit-directed intentionality in the investing of our time for God-glorifying, Jesus-loving, Holy Spirit-directed purposes and pursuits.