By Dr. Rebekah McCloud
Stewardship is a Biblical principle that is about how we use our time, talent, money and resources. The concept has been echoed throughout the Bible beginning with the first book. Genesis 2:15 says, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” God trusted Adam to take care of his creation.
Likewise, as stewards, God has entrusted us; He has given us his time. 1 Corinthians 4: 2 says, “…It is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” Can we be trusted with God’s time?
“There are many inequities in the world, but one thing we all have in common is the same amount of time each day. God has allotted twenty-four hours to each one of us. Perhaps, because we are products of our fast-paced society, we tend to think and act as though God has short changed us when it comes to time. It is not uncommon to hear comments like, “There just isn’t enough time in a day to do everything I need to do.” “I just don’t know where the time goes.” “I’ll try to find time, but I’m hard pressed for time at the present.” In our day when many people meet themselves coming and going, most people feel pushed for time. The feeling is that there simply aren’t enough hours in a day. Life with all its demands is far too busy.”[1] Can we be trusted with God’s time?
Let me be honest, I can raise my hand and say that I have said some, if not all of these things. When I think of time, I usually think of the word “hurry” and some of its synonyms: quick, fast, haste, hustle, fly, dart, shoot, streak, rush, dash, flash; you get the picture. However, “Time doesn’t really ‘march on’. It tends to tip-toe. There’s no parade. No stomping of boots to alert you to its passing. One day, you turn around and it is gone.” [2]
So, what does this mean to us as good and faithful stewards? Tick Tock, it’s time to get “woke” and get on our j-o-b-s! Romans 13:11 says it this way, “And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”
God’s time is everlasting, one of God’s days is like a thousand of our years. We are promised three score and ten, just a few minutes in one of God’s days. Psalm 39:4-5 says, “Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.” Amen.
James 4:14 asks, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” The King James says life is a vapor.
Knowing that life is a “mere handbreadth” or a mist or a vapor, what are we doing to redeem the time? Are we giving our best to God? Are we using our time to glorify the King? Bottom line, can we be trusted with God’s time?
Let me share a poem with you. Its title is “Time”.
Tick Tock
The sound of a clock
Loud and clear
He is always near
A form of binder
A constant reminder
Of an ever-moving flow
Regardless of any woe
Tick Tock
Hurry up and knock
For time never waits
He merely dictates
How precious is time
To waste is a crime
A powerful tool
To misuse is to be a fool
For time wasted
Can never be regained.[3]
“Most time is wasted not in hours, but in minutes. If we do not regularly assess the way we spend our 168 hours per week, our schedules will get cluttered with activities that may be good, but not the best… God wants us to be faithful stewards, not squanderers, of the time He has given us.”[4] Remember, only what we do for God will last. Amen!
Tick, tock. My
final question, can we be trusted with God’s time?
[1] Keathley, J. H., III. ((2004). The Stewardship of Time. At https://bible.org/seriespage/31-stewardship-time.
[2] Babcock, H. (n.d.). At https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/8629707-time-doesn-t-really-march-on-it-tends-to-tip-toe-there-s
[3] Lim, T. (n.d.). Time at http://tashageorginalim.blogspot.com/2016/08/poem-65-time.html
[4] Author unknown (n.d.). Stewardship: Your time, Talent and at http://storage.cloversites.com/centralcommunitychurch1/documents/Stewardship.pdf