How many times a day do you ask the question, “What time is it?”
Time seems to be the most important resource that we have. While on one hand there seems to be a never-ending amount of time, we do realize that time does run out. All we need to do is to look in the paper or listen to some radio stations and we read or hear the obituaries of people whose time ran out here on Earth.
In our society we are very time-conscious. We program every minute and overfill our time. I stayed at a hotel the other day and when we checked in we were told the hotel was oversold. We had our room reservation for many weeks and had made the arrangements with the hotel direct; however, its Internet booking had oversold the hotel. We needed to get a room and some other compensation, but the fact remains the hotel overfilled its capacity. We do the same with our time.
Every so often I go over my calendar with Judy, my wife, and she will look at how many places we are going and how many appointments we have with directors of missions, pastors and churches. She will shake her head and say, “You’re not 20 anymore.” And I will remind her that she is not 20 anymore, either; then I tell her in my eyes she still looks 20.
As fall approaches, our schedule gets full. Football, harvest, deer season, holidays and other events will fill and steal our time. I would like to help us remember that the question, “What time is it?” should cause us to say, “It is time to read and study God’s Word and spend some time with the Savior.” Or, “It is time to spend with family,” or “It is time I shared Jesus with a friend or relative.”
As fall comes and the green of September gives way to the colors of October, remember that October is Ministers Appreciation time. Be sure you take time and tell your pastor, staff and their families that you appreciate them, and then do an act of kindness for them. (George Roach is ministerial services specialist for the Missouri Baptist Convention.)