Making Time For What Matters

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Making Time For What Matters</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id314.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Investing Your Time By Gods Design"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id316.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gods Prescription For Financial Health"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org"><U>stan@stanbaker.org</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>“Making Time For What Matters” </B></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, </B><B>June 23, 2002am</B></div> <bR> <div> <I>     </I>Reuben Rivera, signed by the New York Yankees earlier this year, gave up a guaranteed million-dollar salary because he stole shortstop Derek Jeter’s glove, which he sold for $2500. Is it worthwhile to trade in a million-dollar salary for a $2500 baseball glove? Do we have a tendency to trade in valuable time for that which is worthless? Evaluate your activities. Is there a payoff that lasts longer than the moment itself? You may desire to trade in your minutes for worthwhile things, like family, God, church, personal development, exercise, staying on top of paperwork. How do we have time for what is important when we are already overloaded? President Bush runs three miles every day! Donald Rumsfeld reads 4 books each week! If these men have time for important but “unurgent” activities, shouldn’t we be able to find the time?</div> <div>      By way of review, we have learned that: we belong to God; God takes care of us when we put him first; we must invest our time by understanding the basic time obligations of a follower of Christ, and by understanding God’s specific design for us and our lives. Here are seven guidelines for managing your time so you can do what is most important.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1. Stay committed to spending time with God and God’s people.</B> </div> <div>      This keeps you centered, and God honors the time you invest in him. When my time in the Word goes, my clarity and personal effectiveness go out the window with it! In Mark 1:32-35, Jesus got up early in order to pray in solitude, despite the demands. (If he, being God in the flesh, took time to spend alone with his Heavenly Father, how much more do we as sinful human beings need to take time to spend with God!) In Luke 10:38-42, we learn from the story of Mary and Martha that sometimes the choice is between two good opportunities! Sometimes the choice is not “one or the other,” but “one first, then the other.” Spend time with God first. Without doing this, you will never have enough time for what God deems important in your life. </div> <div>      Pray for wisdom and discernment each day, so that may spend your time wisely (Eph 5:10, “Find out what pleases the Lord;” Eph 5:17, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is;” Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom”).</div> <bR> <div> <B>2. Set specific goals and priorities, based on God’s design for your life.</B> </div> <div>      This relates to big picture issues. Howard Hendricks, said “the secret of concentration is elimination . . . It's obvious that none of us can do everything. So you have to make choices. I find that a person has to choose between the things he or she CAN do and the things he or she MUST do. That calls for elimination. We all have to-do lists. We need ‘to-don't’ lists.”</div> <div>      Last week we discussed 1 Peter 4:10: “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.” Find out what God has designed you or “wired” you to do, and make it a priority in your life and schedule.</div> <bR> <div> <B>3. Schedule your time based on your goals and priorities.</B> </div> <div>      This relates to the day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month implementation of your specific goals and strategies, according to God’s design for your life. Don’t let <I>good</I> opportunities detract from the <I>best</I> opportunities. You determine the <I>best</I> ways to spend your time by being clear on your priorities and following through. There are many <I>good</I> opportunities that are not be a priority for you. Learn the fine art of saying “no.” Note that in Mark 1:35-39, the disciples brought their priorities to Jesus, but Jesus stuck with his own priorities by saying “no.” When I get charitable requests on the phone, most of which are for good causes, I make the decision to help or not based on priority decisions I have already made. I have already budget to give to the best cause for me, so that I can say no even if someone offers a good cause. This principle is true with your use of time as well. You can’t do it all, you can’t read it all, you can’t have it all. Do the best, not just the good. Learn what you yourself have to do; delegate to others what <I>needs</I> to be done (if appropriate); decide what does not need to be done at all.</div> <bR> <div> <B>4. Identify your common “time wasters” and develop a plan to deal with them (including accountability).</B> </div> <div>      In Proverbs 24:30-34, sleep and rest was a time-waster. Sleep is a valuable thing, but there is a time to sleep and a time to work. The fool sleeps (or otherwise wastes time) when he or she should be working (using time wisely, for activities that matter). Internet, email, instant messages, TV, magazines, shopping, sports, too much sleep – these are examples of potential time-wasters. It is not that these are bad things, but are they worthy of a large investment of time when God wants you to invest your time in other pursuits?</div> <div>      Is there one change you could make in your daily schedule that would make the biggest difference? You may need to get up earlier, or read the Bible and pray first thing in the day, or take time each day to review what you have to do, or make sure you get enough sleep, or develop a list of 10-minutes tasks for when you have to wait. </div> <div> Find a way to deal with your personal time-wasters.</div> <bR> <div> <B>5. Adopt a “do it now” or “what is the next action” mentality.</B> </div> <div>      David Allen, in his book <I>Getting Things Done</I>, emphasizes these things. When you consider your life’s “in-box” (everything you have to do, projects, activities, and all), there is the distraction of open loops, things that are undone or not dealt with. Have a plan to get those things done and follow through, carry out your plan. If something is important enough to do, do it now, if it will take 2 minutes or less, or schedule it for later. Always be very specific as to what the next action is. Any project has to start and continue and be finished with specific actions being taken. We often procrastinate because of fear or dread, because the project is overwhelming. Break it down and decide, what is the next action?</div> <bR> <div> <B>6. Unclutter your life, possessions, and commitments.</B> </div> <div>      And don’t unclutter in order to add more clutter! Our “stuff” takes energy to maintain or deal with. One woman said her husband went to an electrical auction in Arizona. He is a clutter collector, and he came home with 20 light fixtures, which he got for $1. The problem was, the bulb’s were 1500 watts, and had been used in an airport. But he couldn’t pass up the bargain He wife said, “That was five years ago, and we’re still moving them from one side of the garage to the other.” (<I>Clutter’s Last Stand</I>, p. 65, Don Aslett). If you haven’t used it in the last year, get rid of it. You can probably borrow it if you ever need it. Realistically, what are the chances you will use it sometime in the future? “I <I>might</I> need it someday” is not a good enough reason to keep stuff around.</div> <div>      Purchase and use <I>Organizing For Dummies</I> if you need (don’t let it become clutter: buy it, read it, practice it, give it to someone else to use).</div> <bR> <div> <B>7. Evaluate the value of time vs. money.</B> </div> <div>      Some people will spend lots of money to save a little time. Others will spend lots of time to save a little money. Which you should do, spending the time or spending the money, depends on the situation. If your time is worth more than the money it would take to get something done, pay someone else to do it. If money is worth more than the time you would have to spend in getting something done, do it yourself, and get some help from some friends. Don’t make an idol out of frugality and waste precious time in the process. At the same, don’t make an idol out of convenience and waste precious money in the process. </div> <div>      How far out of your way (and much gas do you spend) in order to say a couple pennies on the gallon of gas? Is saving 50 cents worth 20 or 30 minutes of your time? Maybe should pay someone to fix your car or computer. Maybe you should have someone clean your house or provide lawn service or launder your shirts.</div> <bR> <div>      Robert Allen, former chairman of Delta Airlines, said, “No matter what price we are charging for seat on a flight, if the plane takes off and the seat is empty, the value of that seat drops to zero and it becomes an unrecoverable asset. Once that aircraft leaves the gate, the empty seat is gone forever, and we have no chance of getting a penny for it.” Whether the price is $1000 or $1, the seat only has value if it is occupied. The same thing is true of your time. It only has value if you use it for valuable purposes. Once it is wasted, it is wasted forever.</div> <div> (Mark McCormack, p. 141, <I>Getting Results for Dummies</I>).</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2002, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>