by R.A. Weigel
You cannot make your year better until you make the month better. You cannot make the month better until you make the week better. You cannot make the week better without making your day, your hour, and your minute better. To do any of that requires getting some time stewardship help and the greatest help you can get comes from the inventor of time… God.
Don’t despise the day of small beginning. (Zechariah 4:10a)Every day is another day of small beginnings. The best beginning of your day is spending some time with God. You need that right starting perspective in order to use your time well. Martin Luther is quoted to have said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” That’s amazing when you consider it. He had so much to do that he knew it was impossible to do what needed to be done without spending time in prayer – time with God.
When you start your days that way, you can stop stressing about the past or the future. After all, you can’t change the past. So, stop looking back, falling back, or going back. It’s not the past that’s going to help you to use your current time to its fullest. When you focus too much on the past or fantasize about the future. you’ll find your time being sucked away. Again, Jesus said, “Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” To steward your time well you need to focus on what’s in front of you – the day ahead.
Time stewardship is not as much about changing the world around you as it is about changing one or two things in you. As you learn more about some of the tactics for stewarding the time granted you, you begin by putting one new tactic, one new idea, or one small change into your use of time. When you do that, little by little, you’re going to, over time, do incredible things.
Many people stress their time because they tend to overestimate what they can accomplish in a day and underestimate what they can accomplish in a year. It’s highly possible that you’ve been underestimating what God can accomplish in your life if you’ll just bring long obedience in the same direction. God expects you to play the long game of life – seeking him with everything you have – glorifying him with your time, talent, and treasure. When you play the long game, there’s a cumulative effect for the better stewardship of your time. You can accomplish almost anything if you’re willing to think long, keep trying, and take smart actions related to your time.
God wants you to unleash the potential he placed in you. In truth, He wants more for you than you want for yourself. When you’re aligning your desires, actions, and your time with what God wants for you, time becomes your friend. That’s playing the long game.
Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) Every 24 hours you have another chance to stress less and accomplish more. Christ in you… the hope of glory… means willfully putting on his yoke which also means using your time in ways that God wants it used. After all, Jesus did more in his short time on earth than anyone before, during, or after.
What would you consider to be a “win” related to your time stewardship? If you don’t know what you want to be different, changed, or improved, it’s extremely hard to make things better. You cannot add hours to your day. But… you can work with your coach and talk about your habits. You are, like everyone else, a creature of habit. It’s highly predictable that you have some habits that are taking far too much of your time. It takes a lot of input, support, and deliberate action in order to change a habit. Work with your coach on that.
“Age and experience have a tendency to leave us in a rut, doing the same thing the same way with no one around to spur us toward change. Think about it: Every top athlete and athletic team has a coach. In the world of athletics, nobody performs his way out of needing a coach. In the world of leadership, however, we operate under the misguided assumption that because we are leaders, we don’t need to be led. Consequently, we measure our leadership against what others are doing rather than against our God-given potential.” ~ Andy Stanley
To improve how you steward your time, something has to change. To accomplish more with the time God has given you to steward, you’re going to need his help and more than likely, you also need the help of a Christian coach.
Let’s be honest! You have a finite amount of time to work with. Looking at all the things that want to take away, steal, or suck away your time. So, here are 7 quick tips for stewarding your time better. See if you can add just one of these to what you’re already doing and then watch how the Lord will begin to multiply the time you’ve been gifted.
One – Spend Time With God. (Mark 1:35) That’s already been mentioned, and you’d be foolish to eliminate the author of time from your schedule.
Two – Demonstrate the love of God – Agape – to others. (Galatians 6:9-10) When the author of time gives you a command to love others, you can be assured that He is going to help you steward your time well in order to do that.
Three – Steward your talent and treasure. (2 Corinthians 5:10) When things take precedence over the stewardship of your time, you’re out of balance and that’s going to become a time problem. Give to God what’s owed him.
Four – Be faithful in the little things. (Luke 16:10) There are little chunks of time in your day. How you steward those little slices of time is really a big deal. Get your coach to help you with that.
Five – Count the cost. (Luke 14:28-30) Counting the Cost is about setting limits. You are to be responsible for your time and you’re responsible to recognize that you have certain limits.
Six – Consider the Do’s and Don’ts of Christian Time Stewardship. (Ephesians 5:15-17) Idolatry is allowing anything to take the preeminent place of God in your life. Do things that are aligned with God’s purpose for your life and don’t just submit to worldly thinking because it’s easier.
Seven – Keep the Sabbath. (Exodus 20:8-11) You’ll never be truly capable of stewarding your time until you follow this command. If you’re not willing to follow this command… you will NOT learn how to steward your time effectively.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. Rich Weigel has an extensive background in leadership with over twenty years leading school districts. In addition to being a credentialed Leadership and Visioneering coach, he has been an adjunct professor five times in various universities teaching Strategic Leadership, Business Ethics, and Educational Leadership. He and his team provide support, coaching, and professional development for teams and leaders in schools and businesses around the country. Rich has served as CCNI’s President since January 2020. He can be reached at proedcoach@gmail.com.
