The New Year is upon us. Everyone always asks, where did the time go? The answer is, it moved along as it always does. Time doesn’t stop or slow down, it is steady and constant. We all get 24 hours in a day, seven days a week, and so on.
The problem is that most of us don’t use our time wisely. I would not volunteer the information that I am a time waster, but sadly, it is the truth. Having said that, I will promote the idea that we should all commit to better use of our time in the coming year.
Our prayer should be the same as the psalmist: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Wisdom comes from God and His Word. Most of us have to work to make a living, but outside of work and even sometimes in our work, we waste time. If we could just identify the time-wasters in our lives and turn those times to the study of God’s word, how much wiser we would be.
Again, in the Psalms, we are reminded, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding” (Psalm 111:10). And in Proverbs 9:10—“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
Wisdom is a dominate theme in the Book of Proverbs. Here are a few examples. “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:10). “Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse” (Prov. 2:12). “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding” (Prov. 3:13). One more from Proverbs, “Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them” (Prov. 4:5).
A favorite passage of mine is this: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2).
Can we put our wasted time to better use? How about beginning a daily time of Bible reading this year?
Happy New Year,
Pastor Jerry
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