How wise are you in prioritizing how you spend your time?

When the Board of Directors for Scott Free Clinic met a few months ago, I was impressed with the personal prayer request of one of our Directors.

What did he want the rest of us to pray about for him?

That he keep his priorities straight.

This Director, a faithful Christian, is a busy businessman who is also a devoted husband and father, and a committed member of his local church. It’s important to him that he manage well his priorities, and so he sought our prayers regarding this.

Time is priceless; once expended, there’s no refunds on how we spent it, and no replenishing of what is now gone. For that reason, the Apostle Paul urges us to exercise wisdom in the use of our time:

“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil,” Ephesians 5:15-16.

Knowing how to structure our priorities for the wisest use of our time draws on what is important to us. Silas Shotwell, writing in Homemade, tells the story of a father who grossly misjudged the value of how he spent his time …

Charles Francis Adams, 19th century political figure and diplomat, kept a diary. One day he entered: “Went fishing with my son today — a day wasted.” His son, Brook Adams, also kept a diary, which is still in existence. On that same day, Brook Adams made this entry: “Went fishing with my father — the most wonderful day of my life!” The father thought he was wasting his time while fishing with his son, but his son saw it as an investment of time. The only way to tell the difference between wasting and investing is to know one’s ultimate purpose in life and to judge accordingly

Are you keeping your priorities straight, making the most of your time?

Scotty