Don’t Waste Your Time

One of the most influential, God exalting books I have read in my life was written by John Piper, titled Don’t Waste Your Life.  I read it about fifteen years ago and although it inspired me it also depressed me as I realized how much of my life I had wasted, how much time that I had given to vain entertainments and superficial efforts to truly understand and live for that which has eternal significance.  My copy of the book is filled with yellow highlighting and notes to myself that unfortunately I have not fully heeded. However, there were two insights I found to be most significant to my present focus on time. 1) “God created me—and you—to live with a single, all-embracing, all-transforming passion—namely, a passion to glorify God by enjoying and displaying his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life.” 2) “You get one pass at life. That’s all. Only one. And the lasting measure of that life is Jesus Christ.”

In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church, he presents to them an understanding of the infinite value and inestimable worth of the Gospel, the “Good News” of what God has done, “to the praise of His glorious grace” (Ephesians 1:3-6), to redeem or save sinful men and women from the wrath and judgement of God we deserve and to reconcile and restore us to right relationship with Himself and one another (Ephesians 2:11-19).  Paul speaks with great clarity in emphasizing that our salvation is not through human striving or merit, but through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:1-10). In the first three chapters Paul presents to us these and other truths central to the Christian faith, such as our adoption by God as His beloved children, and the gift of the Holy Spirit who works in us to conform us in our nature and character to that of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:13-14).  In the final three chapters we learn how we should and will live our lives in time, in light of these truths, glorifying God, rejoicing in His love, battling the lies of the devil and blessing those whose lives we touch.

In Ephesians Chapter 5, Paul speaks to the radical change that has taken place in our hearts and lives if we truly have put our faith in Jesus.  In Ephesians 5:15 he writes. “See then that you walk circumspectly (cautiously), not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

To redeem something means to buy it back, to regain possession of something of value. I previously noted (as did Jonathan Edwards) that time is a gift from God, and none of us know how much of it we are allotted, and thus we have contrasted here in this verse the use of time by fools and those who are wise.

The Bible tells us that a fool is someone who disdains the very idea of God, of an ultimate authority to whom they are dependent upon and accountable to (Psalm 14:1).  However, the totality of the Bible would suggest that the biggest of fools is someone who claims they believe in God, and then spend their time in this world living as if He doesn’t exist (Matthew 15:7-9).

In contrast, a wise person is a person who fears God (Proverbs 9:10), who recognizes that he or she is dependent upon and accountable to the One who created them for His glory (Isaiah 43:7), and thus strive to live their lives in this world of time in a manner that honors and magnifies God’s greatness, His goodness and the glory of His grace, pursing Him alone as the object of their deepest love and source of their greatest joy.

Jonathan Edwards in His treatise on “The Preciousness of Time and the Importance of Redeeming it” responds to the reason noted in Ephesians 5:15, for redeeming the time, namely “because the days are evil”, meaning that our time in this world is filled with multitudes who live in opposition to God, as well as with innumerable temptations, even for the Christian, to join in that opposition.

One commentator on this verse notes, “Because the days are evil, the opportunities we have to do good and bring glory to God are already on auto-pilot, on a course to be swallowed by busyness and our worldly mindsets”.  He explains that “Because the days are evil, our sin nature is the default owner and decision-maker concerning these precious windows of time we have to make a difference on this earth”.   He further notes that “Because the days are evil, if we just go with the flow of our culture, we will live wasted lives. 

Another commentator notes that obedience to the command in Colossians 3:2, “Set your mind on the things above”, is essential to redeeming the time. He notes that “Without this conscious, active, disciplined setting of the direction of our thoughts, they will be unproductive at best, evil at worst. Our bodies are inclined to ease, pleasure, gluttony, and sloth. Unless we practice self-control, our bodies will tend to serve evil more than God. We must carefully discipline ourselves in how we “walk” in this world, else we will conform more to its ways rather than to the ways of Christ. Finally, our days are days of active evil because every temptation and evil force are active in them. The use of time is important because time is the stuff of which days are made. If we do not discipline our use of time for the purpose of Godliness in these evil days, these evil days will keep us from becoming Godly.”

The preciousness of time and the purpose for which events occur in time can only be understood and anchored in the reality of a timeless eternity in which God will proclaim, display and magnify His glory, the infinite perfections of His being, for the eternal joy and delight of those who, while in this world of time, strived, though imperfectly, to do the same (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Thus, I pray dear readers that we would use the remaining time God has given us in this world to draw near to Him; being preoccupied with obtaining a deeper understanding of His person and purposes as they are revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  I pray that we would pursue with all diligence, a greater knowledge and experience of His greatness, His goodness and the glory of His grace, and in doing so find the peace of mind, ease of conscience, rest in our souls and joy in our heart that will sustain us through the short time we have in this perishing world of time (1 John 2:17), knowing that each day we draw closer to being with Him forever.

Grace and Peace ×