Time part 4
The most important, valuable, priceless thing we have in life is our time. Because once it's gone... it's gone. So we should be careful about how we spend it. Or use it. We should make sure that what we do with our time is useful. And, listen, that doesn't mean you have to push yourself past the point of good sense (and good health) by never giving yourself a break. If you're enjoying the time you're "wasting" is it really wasted at all? Life is about living. It's about more than just working, paying taxes, and dying. Now, as always, I'm not saying you can shirk your responsibilities. You gotta do what you gotta do. That's one of the foundations I've built my life on. What I'm saying is, you have to find a balance. You have to take the very limited amount of time that you're given, and make sure that you don't use it in the wrong way. Do you have to work? Most probably. Paul even addressed that truth in the Bible. He basically wrote, "If you don't work, you don't eat." He worked as a tent maker in order to avoid having other people pay his way for him. But at the same time he taught and preached and wrote letters to churches. Went on mission trips. He was consumed by a mission of mercy from God. And he took care of business in the natural day to day minutia of life. Don't be a workaholic, I think is my point. Pay the bills. But don't burn yourself out. Make sure you have time for the things in life that are really important--the people in your life. Remember when I started talking about the Three T's (Time, Talent, Treasure)? And I tried to shine a light on the idea that treasure is more than money? It's people. The most valuable things in life are the relationships and connections we build with each other. That's why we give our time and talent to each other. The greatest love you can have is to lay your life down for your friends. One of the most important things I think I've ever done is established that my son and I get "our time" every night before bed. Where we just shut the day down together. Watch a cartoon. Read. Enjoy each other's company. Make sure to connect, and touch base. I think it's so important. Or, on a day when the kids are gone, I try my best to spend time with my wife. Build up that connection. It takes effort. But it's worth it. People are worth it. The Three T's are how we express love. We give ourselves--everything we have and everything we are--to each other. God and people. Love God and love people. Love God BY loving people. That's what this life is all about. That's what this life is for. God first loved us. He gave us what we need to live. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. Giving what we've got. Giving our time. Making sure people know we care about them by spending our most valuable resource on them. Someone once told me, "Kids spell love T-I-M-E." And that really hit me hard. Because it's true. If you love someone, you spend time with them. Pretty simple. So don't get caught up in everything and anything else. Make sure the people in your life know that they are your priority. Give them what you've got. Yourself. Your time.