Rest in Christ the Fourth Commandment

The Stewardship of Time

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” Matthew 25:21

            As Christians, we are called to be stewards. We have been entrusted with the care of the planet (Genesis 1:28, Genesis 2:15), our finances, our resources, our bodies, the Word of God, the church of Christ, and our time. Jesus told the parable of the talents, explaining that those who properly use the resources given to them will receive the commendation, “good and faithful servant.”  I have been thinking a lot about the stewardship the Lord has entrusted to me. In doing so, I have been convicted about those ways in which I have squandered the “talents” entrusted to me, like the wicked and slothful servant Jesus describes further in the parable (Matthew 25:24-28). I want to spend some time considering some of the areas of stewardship God has placed in our hands, and also consider how I have failed to meet the call of stewardship, and suggest ways to best utilize the gifts God has given to us.

            I start with the stewardship of time, because it is possibly the easiest thing to squander. Today, we have so many things competing for our attention. And, we thus have so many things competing to take our attention away from the ministry God has set before us. I know that it is easy for me to become a servant to the urgent (or those things that may be perceived as urgent) and avoid doing those things which are best (or those things God has called me to do).

As a pastor, I have a lot of things vying for my attention. As the only staff member at my church, that can mean that a lot of things (many of them helpful things) fall into my lap. Sometimes, I allow too many of these to overwhelm me, waste my time, or strip me of doing my best. I also have a responsibility for a number of things that I cannot neglect. I must prepare and preach a sermon weekly. I must prepare a weekly Bible study. I must prepare a children’s Sunday school lesson. All of these tasks require preparation and concentrated study. However, it is easy to over prepare in these areas, to the neglect of other responsibilities. There are times when hospital calls, home visits, and phone calls are necessary. There are times when I must attend to counseling, sending e-mails, or cast vision. Add to these, the responsibilities I have to my family, and one can see how easy it would to get off track. Are there times when I spend too much time in one area, at the expense of others? Yes.

I find that I have one of two responses when the burdens of the pastorate are many. One, I try to do too much, and I succeed in doing everything, but not doing anything very well. Or two, I retreat from the responsibilities and create my own “to-do list” which includes those things I am inclined to enjoy or prefer. As I was preparing for a study on spiritual disciplines, I started thinking about how much time I waste in a given day. That time is wasted either by not being adequately prepared, or by being so overwhelmed by obligation, that I waste time considering  what thing I have to do at this moment. I realized that if I were a better steward of my time that I would be able to accomplish a significant amount more than I did. And I prayed that those things that I did accomplish would be the best things to do at that time.

This year, I determined to be far more proactive in planning out my work week. Yes, there will still be emergencies that call for immediate attention. But, as I better plan my work week, I should – in theory at least – have more time to devote to the emergencies as they arise. I also determined some of those things I would devote time to, and determined how much time I should devote to them. Once again, this should free me up to do more things, and more effectively. I have started planning (and writing down) the two main things I want to achieve each day. Some of these require great amounts of time, others are things I avoid because I don’t want to do them, but know I should. I have also tried to create a theme for each day. With this idea, I will not divide my time each day into a number of tasks, such as administrative, sermon prep, vision casting, home visits, working on technology, etc. Instead, each day is devoted to one of these areas.

            Here are some other things I am doing this year.

1)      I am limiting the number of books I read each month. I do need to read for professional enrichment. However, since I enjoy reading, I could avoid other important tasks by burying myself in one book after another. Once I have read my limit of books for the month, I will not read another until the next month comes. This frees my schedule to do many other things.

2)      I am setting aside scheduled time to read my Bible and to pray. I also have a structured plan to read through the Bible this year. This does not mean that I cannot read my Bible or pray at non-scheduled times, but it also means that I will be able to do both each day. Without a scheduled time, I found it too easy to skip one or the other. Or, I would let my other reading (which can be about biblical stuff) take the place of reading the Word.

3)      I am putting things in writing. Yes, it does take time to write. But, if I do not write things, I either think the same thoughts over and over, or I have to explain the same thing over and over. I often rehash thoughts because they have not been put into writing, thus misusing my time. I have found that if I write it in some form, I am able to let that matter rest. Also, I am writing more frequently so that I have an established forum to answer an issue. In the past, I would have to explain an issue more than once, often telling any number of people at different times, how I felt or what I believed was the way to pursue a concern. Doing this, I would often tell one person something that I neglected to tell someone else, or I just felt exhausted by the constant interaction. By writing it all down, I think my overall communication is better, and I should be able to make all the points I need to make at once.

4)      I am filtering out the time wasters. If it is something that has caused me distraction in the past, then I am limiting it or avoiding it altogether. Television, that means you. Worrying-about-things-outside-of-my-control, you’re also in my crosshairs. Facebook and Twitter, I apologize in advance for not checking on updates hourly (in fact, some days I may not look at you at all).

I already feel that I have accomplished more in the past month than I did in the three or four months that ended last year. And that is a good thing, because there are a great number of things I want to do with my time. And there are a great number of ways I want God to be able to use me for His ministry. One day, I pray He will say, “well, done my good and faithful servant. You have used the time I have given to you wisely.”

What's in a Name?

            We have all read Romeo and Juliet. In Shakespeare’s play, Juliet laments that her newly found love, Romeo, is a Montague, her family’s rival. In that famous scene, Juliet says, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” But, is that true? Doesn’t our name mean something?

            Last night, much of America watched as cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted in an interview to Oprah Winfrey that he had knowingly taken performance enhancing drugs. This follows months of discussion in which Armstrong has been stripped of cycling titles and awards after evidence suggested that he did indeed take these drugs during his racing career. Armstrong has vehemently denied the charges, until last night.

            Although I did not watch the interview, I followed the comments and Armstrong quotes on Twitter. I am not a cyclist. But, I do feel invested in the story since Armstrong and I share a first name. We share little other than that name. We’re both Americans, and we’ve both been married to Sheryl Crow (well, maybe we only share a name and a national identity). But, in sharing a name, I am struck by the shame I feel carrying that name today. It used to be when someone would ask me my name, or how to spell my name, I would say, “My name is Lance, spelled like Lance Armstrong.” I doubt I will ask people to make the connection in future.

            As a Christian, I also have responsibility for the name I hold. As I identify myself as a Christian, I am identifying myself with Jesus the Christ. I am telling the world that I am a follower of Jesus, and the things I say and do must reflect that allegiance. When I act or speak in a way contrary to how a Christian should act or speak, I have maligned the name of my Lord.

            In the third commandment that God gave to the Hebrew people, God says, “You shall not take the name of your Lord in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7). Many people misunderstand or misinterpret this commandment to mean simply that we should not use the name of God as a curse word. But, God is calling us to have deepest respect and honor for who He is. And one of the greatest ways I can honor my God is by bringing honor to His name as I live my life with integrity daily. That means that I must do what is right, even when it hurts.

            Am I perfect in leading a life of integrity? Of course not. I slip and I do not always bring glory to God. But, living a life of truthfulness is one of the best ways to live a life of intentional integrity. I would guess the agony of years of deception weighed heavily on Armstrong’s mind and heart.

Last year, I experienced a similar weight. After attending the funeral of my wife’s grandfather, we were headed back to the airport to fly home. We were running short on time, but my wife wanted to quickly visit her great aunt. As we visited her and quickly went to the airport, I was unaware of the speed limit. Yes, a camera caught me speeding, and a couple of weeks later, we received a traffic ticket in the mail. No big deal. At the time, however, our finances were tight and there wasn’t a lot in our bank account. So I worried about paying the ticket. Unwisely, I told my wife I had paid the ticket when I had not. A little while later, we received another letter from the court, with my fine raised because of inaction. Unfortunately, I continued to deceive my wife. I don’t know why. It troubled me. Eventually, I paid the ticket at the higher fine. I had to come clean with my wife, telling her of my stupid action, and unable to really explain why I had acted in such a way. What hurt her most was a broken trust. And I could do nothing to assuage that hurt. The situation taught me a couple of great lessons. First, our choices are often misguided, and there is no clear reason why we act as we do. Second, it made me painfully aware that my integrity is easily damaged and, when it is, it takes a lot of time to repair that damage. And, finally, it taught me that I cannot take time off from being a person of integrity. There is too much at stake. Often, what is at stake is the sacred name of God.

            As difficult as it was to come clean with my wife, it was also freeing. I carried the burden of that lie for too long. I can imagine that Armstrong also feels the burden of deceit somewhat lifted from his shoulders this morning. I don’t want to stand above Lance Armstrong in judgment. He has made mistakes as I have made mistakes. His story, however, does offer me another example of how important it is to live with integrity and to honor Jesus as I carry His name with me daily.