TV Program

Current Episode

The Ultimate Time Management Secret

2009-01-11

PRODUCTION #: 1086

SPEAKER: Shawn Boonstra

One of the most frustrating things about life is the fact that there just isn't time to do everything you would like to try. In fact, for most people, there is only time to do one or two things really well. So, how exactly do you plan your life so that when it's finished, you don't have any regrets?

The New York World's Fair in 1939 couldn't have been timed any worse. It promised us a bright new tomorrow, the kind of place where you wouldn't have to slave for 40 hours a week, because the marvels of technology and careful planning would change our lives for the better.

It was a celebration of hope, and fair-goers could literally see the future laid out before them in shiny utopian models.

General Motors had an attraction they called Futurama, where you would sit in a motorized chair that would move across a model of the United States, and you could see how bright the future was going to be, complete with spacious, uncongested freeways. And when you were done with General Motors, you might stop in at the Perisphere to see Democracity, another idealistic attraction that showed you a thriving economy with lots of room for people to enjoy themselves in the suburbs.

One attraction after another gave the same message. In 1939, we were looking forward to better, easier times, and that was a message people really wanted to hear after a decade of hardship in the Great Depression.

But the timing couldn't have been worse. By the fall of that year, World War II had broken out, and all of the hopes for a bright tomorrow evaporated in a heartbeat. In fact, because of the war, investors lost around 2/3 of the money they had wagered on the success of the fair.

That was more than 60 years ago, and the war has been over for a long time. So the question is, were they right? When they pictured such a fantastic future, where life would be easier and people would enjoy themselves more, were they right?

Well, for a little while in the 1980s, we thought we were going to pull it off. With the birth of personal computers and cell phones, we convinced ourselves that a technological utopia was just around the corner. We were going to work less and earn more!

But for some reason, it never happened. We are not working less than we used to. In fact, we are working more. According to one study by the National Sleep Foundation, the average work week is actually up to 46 hours, with something like 38 percent of us working more than 50 hours a week.

And I know that most of you are feeling the crunch. You are finding out that there just aren't enough hours in the day for everything you need to do. Between your job, your family, the house, the car and everything else, at the end of the day you just kind of collapse in bed, more than a little numb from the way the world treated you all day.

Which brings me to my point for today. It doesn't take long in this world to figure out that there is only enough time in life to do one thing really well, unless you are one of those rare types like Leonardo Da Vinci who just happened to be good at everything. But if you are like most people, you are going to find that life is a bit of a cruel joke. The world is full of things that fascinate us, but we never seem to have time to explore it all.

If I only had the time, I would love to become an expert at a lot of things. I love physics, and biology, and math, and music, and art, and theology, and nature, and literature, and philosophy and astronomy, and just about everything else that you find in the university syllabus. But you need more than one lifetime if you are going to study all those things and still earn a living.

And maybe that's what the New York World's Fair missed. No matter how many timesaving devices we create, and no matter how much easier we make some tasks, we are never going to run out of human curiosity and ambition. So one lifetime is never going to be enough.

And if one lifetime is never going to be enough, that means we are going to have to make some choices. We are going to have to manage our time and learn to prioritize. You just can't do everything, so which things are you going to choose to spend your life on?

Now think about this with me for just a moment. According to the Bible, there was a time in human history when we didn't have to deal with this problem, because time wasn't an issue. We didn't have to think about things like retirement or funeral arrangements; and if you didn't get to something this millennium, well you could always get to it a thousand years from now.

But that all changed when we stepped outside of God's will. Now with death looming large over all of us the clock is ticking and we have choices to make. What are you going to do with the time and resources that God has given you today?

One thing is for sure, as I read the Bible. God expects you to do something with your time. This life isn't just about coasting from the cradle to the grave, trying to accomplish as little as possible. We weren't even created that way. If you read the book of Genesis carefully, you will discover that we were made to accomplish something.

Here is God's original mandate for the human race, even before we fell into sin and ran out of time. In Genesis 1:27, the Bible says (Genesis 1:27, 28):

"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."'

It's almost as if God took Adam to the edge of the garden and showed him an untamed planet.

"Look Adam, I have made you a beautiful garden to live in, but the rest of the planet is not a garden. Your job is to go out there and do something with it!"

I know that we love to think about the Garden of Eden as a place where people just kind of swung on a hammock drinking out of a coconut all day, but let's be honest about it. After a day or two, you would get fed up with that, and you would want something to do, because you are not really designed to sit around all day doing nothing.

In fact, it has been said by some that the average life expectancy of a man who retires and has nothing to do, is only about 18 months, and if that's true, it's because you are not designed to be completely idle. Inactivity means almost certain death.

So the big question is this: We know we are supposed to be busy doing something, and we know that we only have so much time and so many resources at our disposal, so how do you decide what you are going to do with your life? What should your list of lifelong priorities look like, and how do you even make a list like that?

I'm glad you've asked, because the Bible doesn't tell us to do something with ourselves only to leave us hanging! There are solid biblical principles for living a meaningful life that uses our time and energy well, and brings us satisfaction when we cross life's finish line.

The first principle is this: you need to recognize what it is that you were created to do. You see, the Bible says that you are not really the one who sets your personal agenda, because someone already has claims on your time.

Listen to this passage in Paul's letter to the Colossian church, where he describes the origins and purpose of Creation. Now it's speaking of Jesus, and it is written (Colossians 1:16, 17):

"For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominion, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist."

Now, did you notice what it said? The Bible said that not only did Jesus create everything, but it also says that everything was created for Him. We don't exist because a few amino acids managed to link up in some primordial broth. We exist for a specific purpose. The Creator made us for Himself.

Here is another passage that says the same thing over in the book of Revelation in chapter four and verse 11 (Revelation 4:11):

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

That says it about as clearly as anything could! Your Creator has put a prior claim on your time, and that is because you were created for Him.

"Well," you say, "maybe I'm my own person and I want to spend my time the way I want to spend it."

OK, fair enough, and if you check the Bible, you will discover that is exactly the way God operates. He is not going to force you to do anything, but at the same time, He asks you to make wise decisions, because He knows you are not really going to be happy unless you are living for the purpose you were created for.

Trying to live life your own way is a little like trying to dry your sneakers in the microwave. It seems like a pretty good idea at first, but it doesn't take long to discover (as the fumes of the microwave abuse fill your kitchen) that microwaves weren't designed to dry sneakers. They were made to cook food.

And you were made for your Creator, not for serving yourself. If you want to live life your own way, God's likely going to let you do it, but ask yourself this question: How happy are you really going to be? The world is full of people who set their own agendas, but most of them have unsettled, restless hearts because they are still not doing what they were designed to do.

It only makes sense, if you are going to live a successful, productive life, that you find out what you were actually created to do. If you knew what your purpose was, you'd be able to make better choices when you are sorting through the list of demands that life throws at you. Frankly, you'd have a pretty good idea of which things you should say "yes" to, and which things you should say "no" to.

So, what exactly were you created to do? The Bible says you were created to bring pleasure to God. Now that doesn't mean that you were created as some sort of plaything that God amuses Himself with between creating galaxies. The book of Ephesians says that it's more like a marriage covenant, where two parties exist for the good of each other. God longs for you to pour yourself into Him the same way that He pours Himself into you.

So, as you set your agenda for life, and you choose your priorities, one of the right questions to ask is this: Will this activity or choice bring pleasure to God? Does it put a smile on the face of the Creator? And if the answer to that question is yes, chances are you are making the right choice.

Another solid principle in choosing your priorities in life is to understand that God has an important agenda that He's determined to achieve. All of human history is driving at something. God preserved our entire race after we sinned, not because He likes the thought that we are suffering the consequences of sin, but because He has a specific plan for us.

And nowhere is this more obvious than at the cross of Calvary. That's where we find out what is really important to God. Your salvation, your redemption for His kingdom, was so important that He was willing to give it all away to win you. He was willing to suffer amazing abuse and ridicule. He was willing to die the shameful death of a criminal even though He was completely innocent, all because He wanted to save you from the choices you've already made.

So what does that have to do with the priorities in your life? Well, it has everything to do with it.

In a famous passage in the book of Philippians, God invites you not only to have the same agenda He has, but to throw yourself into it as completely as He did. Listen to this important verse of scripture, found in Philippians, chapter two and verse five (Philippians 2:5-8):

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a Servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

You know, I don't think there is a stronger lesson on priorities anywhere in the Bible. When God says, "Let this mind be in you," He is inviting you to have the same priorities He had when He chose to become a part of the human race. "If you want to have success in life, if you want to choose what's important," He says, "then adopt the same mindset Jesus had."

And what mindset was that? Frankly, it was to empty Himself of everything. To give Himself away, and as strange as that might sound, that's actually the secret to a 100 percent satisfying life. If you want to get something out of life, stop worrying about getting something out of it, and give your life away. Choose your priorities in such a way that you are not even in the picture, and you are going to discover you are much happier.

And do you know why? It's because that is God's agenda. He is completely preoccupied with your salvation. Contrary to popular belief, God is not a dictator. He is not some sort of medieval overlord who pushes people around. The Bible says He's in the business of giving Himself away, and when you adopt that kind of agenda, you are going to find, as you cross life's finish line, that you have made all the right choices.

Some of life's biggest frustrations and disappointments happen when you have a different agenda than God. For a little while before I was a minister, I used to dye carpets for a living, and I remember this one house where the owners wanted to change their living room carpet from white to Out of dye.

Now as soon as we moved the furniture out of the way, the owners left the house for the day, and I thought I was alone in the house. But after I had dyed a big piece of the carpet and it was still wet, I heard this noise in the hallway just down from me. Somebody or something was in the bedroom.

Now, a few minutes later I found out what it was, because a white dog came running down the hall. He had been locked in the bedroom, but somehow he managed to get out, and he ran into the living room ready to play. The only problem was that he ran directly onto the wet carpet, which had just been sprayed with bright Out of dye; and now he was a beautiful white dog with bright Out of feet.

Now that dye was colorfast, and I remember explaining to the somewhat distraught owners that it would eventually wash out. But the point is this: That dog was frustrated by the fact that he was locked in the bedroom. If he had only been on the same page as his owner, he would have been happy to stay in there for a while.

And sometimes, you and I are deadlocked in some remote corner of life, and we can't figure out why nothing seems to be working. We need to be sure, at that moment, that we have the same agenda as God. If we did, we would be perfectly happy with whatever we are going through. That's why Paul was able to write that he had learned to be content no matter what his station in life. He had managed to sync his calendar with God's and adopt the same priorities.

You know, God's will for your life is all laid out for you in the pages of the Bible. Take a careful look at your plans for this week, and if you discover that they don't involve picking up a cross or loving the things that Christ loves, like seeking lost people, then you really need to rearrange your priorities a little bit.

Well, we don't have a lot more time on today's program, so let me give you just one more principle for developing a successful priority list for life. If you want to be able to sort through life's challenges and figure out which things are important and which things aren't, then come to grips with the fact that all you have at your disposal is today.

That's not to say that you should not make long-term plans for life, because of course you need to do that. The book of Proverbs encourages us to watch the ants who make long-term plans for survival. You really should be thinking about things like college, career and retirement, and laying general long-term plans.

But if you really want to get down to brass tacks, then take that to-do list of yours and ask yourself which things would be most important if you had only one day left to live. One of my favorite Christian writers from last century put it this way, and I think she hit it right on the head:

"Each morning consecrate yourselves and your children to God for that day. Make no calculation for months or years; these are not yours. One brief day is given to you. As if it were your last on earth, work during its hours for the Master. Lay all your plans before God to be carried out or given up, as His providence shall indicate."

Now that is a powerful principle. You don't own tomorrow. All you have is today, and that should make a huge difference when you decide what is important and what isn't.

I once knew a rather famous businessman who showed me all of his plans for the future, and I'll be the first to admit that you really do need plans for the future, especially if others are depending on you for their livelihood. But I noticed that he wasn't laying up plans for eternity, and his daily agenda didn't seem to include things that really mattered.

And then one day, he suddenly dropped dead, about 30 years ahead of the moment everybody thought it might happen. All of his future plans were suddenly scrapped and the things that really mattered were never finished.

It reminds me of the story that Jesus told, where a rich man spent all of his time making huge plans for the distant future, but his number came up way before he expected it, and Jesus called that man a fool, because he had utterly wasted his time.

Take your agenda for tomorrow, look at it and ask yourself just one question. If I had only one day left to live, just 24 hours, what would I do with it? And if you know the answer to that question, let me ask you this: Why in the world aren't you doing those things right now?

Let's face it. You only have so many days left to live, and unless you are sitting on death row, you have no idea how many you have left. But this much you do know, you will never be able to do everything you want to do in the time you have, and you are going to have to make some choices. Some people cross life's finish line with no regrets, and they are the ones who choose their priorities by God's book.

There was a soldier some years ago who was dying from his injuries, and he kept on fighting for his life until his commanding officer arrived on the scene.

"It's amazing he's still alive," said the doctor. "He just refuses to die until he sees you, sir!"

The sergeant went into the tent to see the dying man. "Listen," said the soldier, "there's just one thing I need to know. Is my commanding officer pleased with my performance?"

With compassion in his voice, the sergeant said, "I couldn't be prouder of you than I am at this moment."

The painful grimace suddenly disappeared off the soldier's face and he smiled for the first time in days. "That's all I needed to know," he said. And then he closed his eyes and passed to his rest.

Let me ask you: When it comes to closing time, it's not going to matter how many meetings you sat in, and it's not going to matter how many accounts you picked up, and it's not going to matter how many air miles you logged. Those things won't make a bit of difference in the kingdom of heaven. If you really want to cross life's finish line with a smile on your face, why don't you take another look at your agenda and see if it matches God's.

Life throws a lot of things in our direction and sometimes it's hard to figure out what's important and what's not. That's why I'm glad we have a heavenly Father that we can lean on.

Why don't we talk to Him together right now?

PRAYER:
Father in heaven, it's not easy to admit it, but most of us have all the wrong priorities in life. We've made trivial things important, and we've put things of lasting value on the back burner. Teach us to resist the pressures of the unimportant and to re-adjust our calendars by syncing them with yours. Teach us to approach life with the spirit and passion of Jesus Christ. For in His name we pray it, amen.

Scriptures Used in “The Ultimate Time Management Secret”

"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."'
—Genesis 1:27, 28

"For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominion, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist."
—Colossians 1:16, 17

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."
—Revelation 4:11

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a Servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
—Philippians 2:5-8