Friday, February 25, 2011

The Barrenness of a Busy Life

A friend of mine started a new job recently. It was a promotion and took him in the direction of things he was passionate about and skilled to handle. And in an economy like this one where any job elicits gratitude, having one you enjoy too is like heaven. But now two months into it, the increased hours and energy are beginning to take their toll. He said, “I’m not sure how much longer I can keep up this pace!”


This morning a mother of four told me she was so busy with just one of her sons she was overwhelmed. He’s a talented athlete and is involved in sports at school and works out starting at 6:00 a.m. and gets to bed late every night. She said, “I’m not sure how I can keep up this schedule.”

All of us have 168 hours in a week. And in a culture where we have been used to getting loans or using credit to spend tomorrow’s dollars today, we have imagined that we can also spend next week’s hours this week. Living like this will suck the life out of us.

My third grade daughter recently learned about something called “Opportunity Cost” in her class at school. “Opportunity Cost” is an economic term that means if you spend money on one thing, you won’t be able to spend it on something else. What it comes down to is priorities.

You can’t do everything you want to do with your 168 hours. So what is it that God wants you to do? What is it that you need to say no to in order to say yes to God’s priorities?

If we don’t budget our time like we budget our money, we will go into debt. We will get sick. We will not have the life God intended for us.

What is it that you need to say no to in order to say yes to what God wants you to do?

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