Now that you’ve washed your hands, you’ve got more time on them! What to do with it …

An outrageous number of people routinely say, “If only I had more time, I would …”

Well, in response to the Corinavirus pandemic, you’ve washed your hands a thousand times but you likely are finding them with more time on them! Everything from schools, to churches, to sporting events are canceling public meetings, and many more people who don’t usually work from home will be. But with so many things that usually keep you busy now canceled, what are you going to do with that new time on your hands?

Many people will have an immediate temptation to indulge — otherwise meaning to waste — that time on things like massive Netlfix marathons or online binges. There are better things you can do with the new time you’ll have on your hands! Here are four main ideas for using the additional time available to you:

TIME FOR GOD
Many, many people – particularly those professing to be followers of Jesus – claim they don’t have time to read/study the Bible or for a significant prayer life. Maybe you do now! Sadly, when it comes to delegating one of our most precious resources – our time – we tend to short change God the most. So if you’re going to have more time on your hands, why not start the divvying up process with God? Now is the chance to dive deep into the Word and spend an extended time with Him in prayer. It’s also an opportunity to worship Him together as a couple or a family. The greatest thing you can ever do with time is invest it in God Himself.

TIME FOR RELATIONSHIPS
Not only do people complain they don’t have time for God, they also routinely complain they don’t have time to do relationships well. If you find you have more time on your hands as you navigate this pandemic, an additional wise use of your time is to invest some of it in relationships.

“But we’re supposed to practice social distancing!” some will use as an excuse.

Great, with the extra time, while practicing “social distancing,” you can Face Time via phone and go online with family and friends to catch up with and nurture those relationships. You say you need time for relationships, well use a little of your new time for renewing and refreshing your existing relationships, and possibly even start some new ones!

TIME FOR SERVICE
When there are people in need and people afraid, we have an opportunity to serve them in the name of Christ. Use your additional spare time to stay connected with your local church and be part of serving your community at a time when there are people in need and many people afraid. Let your light shine now when people feel a darkness falling over the land. The hope and peace you have in Christ will be something many people can be blessed by, but you have to make it available to them.

TIME FOR SELF
As Christians, we don’t put ourselves first, but we also don’t ignore our own needs. Many of you have long needed more rest than you’ve been getting, now might be the time for you to get the rest you need. Not at the expense of time with God, or time for relationships, or forgetting the need to serve others, but as an “also” in portioning out the additional time you might be gaining.

Let me suggest one thing NOT to spend your new time on — binge-watching the news that exploits and dramatizes a crises. Identify reliable outlets of information regarding the pandemic to keep yourself appropriately informed, but otherwise turn off the news and go use your additional time wisely.

Scotty