Psalm 90:12
New International Version (NIV)
12 Teach us to number our days,that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
For kicks, I took a life expectancy test on the internet and here are the results that I received:
Life Expectancy Results
Life Expectancy: 86.90 yearsLower Quartile: 79.03 years (75% chance you will live longer than this)Median Lifetime: 88.41 years (50% chance you will live longer than this)Upper Quartile: 96.23 years (25% chance you will live longer than this).
That being said, I am currently age 46, which means according to this, I am over half the age that I have till I die. According the the calculators, I have 41 years left before I go home. In other words, I have 14,975 days, or (if I am calculating this right), 21 million 464 thousand minutes before I am gone baby gone. As I am typing this I have a son who is 10 years old and two daughters (ages 9 and 7, respectively).
Psalm 39:4-5
New International Version (NIV)
4 “Show me, Lord, my life’s endand the number of my days;let me know how fleeting my life is.5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth;the span of my years is as nothing before you.Everyone is but a breath,even those who seem secure.
This past month, I have come to realize how important time is in my life as Prophet, Priest and King of my household. Scripture clearly tells me as husband and father that I have these roles and that I am to die to self to serve others that I am responsible for. Thereby, my son and two daughters, my wife and so on - those that I have immediate impact on.
Just thinking about this can be very humbling and intimidating knowing this plate that I have. All of a sudden, if you are like me, a wave of emotions and thoughts come to mind:
What are my priorities:
- Are my priorities aligned with God's will for my life
- I need to prioritize those things that matter most
- I need to give both quantity and quality to those things that DO MATTER most and let go of the things that do not.
- Do I possess the gifts and attributes to prioritize those things? If not, who do I know that does
- If I were to look at my IPhone, DayPlanner, Checkbook, would my answers correlate with these three things? If not, why not
Let's take some inventory:
- How many hours of sleep do you get a night
- How many hours do you work in a day, a week and a year
- How many minutes, hours, days do you give your wife and children
- How much time do you give God
- Are my priorities in line with God's
- Who is my g/God (myself or God)
- Looking at my checkbook, is my stewardship in line with God's plan for stewardship
Let's take a moment to be honest:
- I am not being an effective steward of time: True or False
- I am wasting more time than I am using the way God wants me to: True or False
- I need to get sound wisdom on this topic and need to seek a mentor and scripture and God's will for my life: True or False
- I am not sure where to find this (even in Scripture): True or False
After reading through this again (for the third time), I find myself lacking in some key areas of my life. I need to take stock of the "to-do" lists and the demand of time and how quickly it passes. As I study myself in the mirror I notice a little hint of grey hairs and a hairline that has been receding. I realize that my kids are almost all halfway out the door and I have so much more work and instruction for them - the beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord.
The next few posts I will be walking through the Stewardship of time and where I am at in making what matters most - the priority of being a good steward with the time that God has given me.
What about you? Where are you at on this so valuable of a topic?
Let me know,
Dante