Givers or Takers?

Every day, we make decisions about whether to act like givers or like takers. When we act like givers, we contribute to others without seeking anything in return. We might offer assistance, share knowledge, or make valuable introductions. When we act like takers, we try to get other people to serve our own ends while carefully guarding our own expertise and time. Let's decide to be givers.

A Service Economy?

As Christians, our focus is to be on avoiding the things of the world that lead us away from a focus on God's kingdom. The disciples argued from time to time about who was the greatest. Today, we just refer to that as "keeping up with the Jones'" but it is still the same thing.

The world's perspective is do all you can do to be served by others and to get what you can to make your own life pleasurable and enjoyable. The kingdom perspective, however, is to do all you can do to serve others and to make Christ known. 

God gives us a choice. The choice is ours.

Honoring God with our Time

Part of honoring God is spending time with Him.  Can we spend time with Him without going to church? Certainly. We can pray. We can study our Bible. Can we grow in our relationship with Him without attending church?  Sort of, but not the way He intends.

You see, we were created for community.  We were never meant to go through this life on earth alone.  As you read through the account of creation in the first chapter of Genesis, you’ll find over and over that God said, “it was good.” Then, when we finally get to verse 18 of the second chapter, God says something that we often overlook.  He said something was NOT good.  You know what it was?  He said it was not good for man to be alone. 

He created us to be an interconnected community with Him at the center.  That means spending time with other believers.  That means spending time focusing our worship on Him.  That’s what church is.  It’s not a building; it’s a body of believers.  Having a building is a very nice convenience, and one we should all be thankful for.  But we shouldn't confuse the place with the purpose.  

an excerpt from 

Making the Most of Your Time on Earth

by D. Kirk Buchanan

Available at Amazon.com

Oh, you’re unemployed? Where do you volunteer?

“One can only wonder how many of America’s unemployed are taking the opportunity to volunteer at local charities. If you receive unemployment benefits, should you not be thanking society by giving back to it?

It’s completely understandable that you may not volunteer, because you’re actively seeking employment. However, there are many who have completely stopped looking and haven’t taken this opportunity.”

~ fixthepeople.com

It's Hard to Follow If You Are In the Lead

 In life, we all have opportunities to lead or to follow. Some people are born leaders and are very comfortable leading; others are more comfortable at just following.

It is very difficult to follow someone else, especially Jesus, when you and your plans are in the lead.  So, what about you? Are you following Jesus where He leads you?  Or are you out doing your own thing and hoping Jesus comes along with you?

Now there is a question for you. Here's a clue: If you can't see your leader, you are probably not following.

Don’t Let the Urgent Devour the Important in Your Life

Remember that you can do almost anything, but you cannot do everything. Whenever you start a task, you are automatically giving up everything else you could have done during that time.

Prioritizing means taking conscious control of your choices and choosing to spend more time on the things that are important and valuable, and less time on the ones that are not as important or valuable. 

This may sound obvious, but the fact is that the vast majority of people don’t put much thought into how they spend their time.  They just flow through life going wherever the current takes them, doing whatever grabs their attention next or repeating the same things day after day out of habit and routine.

What daily activities tend to consume your time and energy?

We should seek Scriptural Priorities in our day-to-day lives.

When we seek Scriptural priorities, we discover those relationships, activities, and pursuits that should precede others in term of rank and order.  I believe God wants us to prioritize all of the possible activities in life according to these spiritual priorities.  

The Kingdom of God.  “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). 

Love for God. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). 

Love for Jesus.  “He who loves father or mother more than Me [Jesus] is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37). 

The Lord Jesus Christ.  “He Himself [Christ] will come to have first place in everything” (Colossians 1:18). 

Things in heaven.  “Keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:1-2). 

The spiritual goal of heaven.  “One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

Good deeds.  “Learn to engage in good deeds” (Titus 3:14).  “…zealous for good deeds.” (Titus 2:14)  “Be careful to engage in good deeds” (Titus 3:8).

We should seek to minimize the Unimportant Activities in our lives.

We cannot eliminate many parts of our life.  We must work in order to provide for ourselves. We need enough sleep to maintain our health and strength.  We need to eat well enough to sustain good health.  We need to exercise regularly to promote energy, good health and well-being.  We need a certain amount of relaxation, although this can often become misused.  We also need to cultivate good relationships with people.

A quiet time is a tremendous privilege we’ve been given. The creator of the universe invites us to spend time with him every day. What if your favorite actor, musician, or athlete asked you to spend time with him or her every day.  Would you say, “Sorry, I don’t have time for you”? Probably not!  So why do we say “no” to God's invitation to spend time with Him? We’re missing out on so much when we do.

3 Basic Steps:

1. Keep your life balanced.  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

There is time for worship and service just like there is time for friends and leisure time. Be aware of the importance of giving God his place in your life.

2. Don't get caught up with negative influences. Stay away from worldly infections which will hinder your growth and relationship with God. Be aware of what affects your attitude, your thoughts, your actions and your desire to be better. Be aware of temptations around you which only want to separate you from the goals God has for you. Be firm when setting your priorities and follow through with God's plan for you.

3. Allow your spirit to grow. 2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10-12  

Prayer time and reading your bible will allow your faith to strengthen. Make sure to engage in daily time with God to allow this to happen.

We must seek to Do the Right Thing.

The key is to have the courage, integrity, and character to do the right thing in spite of the pressure and urgency you feel.

5 Practical Questions

Questions have the power to instantly change your focus and put you into a productive frame of mind. Here are five questions you can ask yourself habitually throughout the day to help you make the best use of your time. These questions will immediately direct your focus, your attention, and your thinking towards your top priorities and away from distractions.

1. What is the most valuable use of my time right now?

The purpose of this question is to focus your mind on what is most important and valuable at this moment. It is a perfect question to ask whenever you are unsure about what to work on next, whenever you face an unexpected interruption, or whenever you feel that you are not making good use of your time.

2. What am I ultimately trying to accomplish?

The purpose of this question is to focus your thinking on your real objectives and goals; the real reasons you are working on your projects and tasks.

3. What am I giving up to do this?

Remember that whenever you choose to do something, you automatically choose not to do everything else you could have done during that time.

The purpose of this question is to help you realize what you are giving up in order to undertake some other task or project. Once you recognize the true cost of any activity, you may decide that it’s not how you really want to spend your time.

4. What are my three most important projects or tasks today?

The purpose of this question is to help you make use of the 80/20 rule each and every day by identifying the top two or three most important projects and tasks, which could account for up to 80 percent of your day’s value.

5. Should I continue doing this?

This is a slight variation of the first two questions but shifts the focus toward what to stop doing rather than what to start doing.

An essential step in living your priorities is to pause when you have an unexpected event or interruption and recognize that you are about to decide whether it is a “first thing” or not.

Instead of just reacting to the unexpected based on your immediate needs and pressures, you can pause to make a conscious choice based on a longer‑term perspective.

Your power to consciously choose how to react to the unexpected events and circumstances around you lies at the very core of effective prioritization of time.

Making the Most of Your Time on Earth