Choose One More Hour

Every single day our lives are full of choices. We divide our time up, and sooner or later our time is spent. Yet we are all given the same amount of time, and while our circumstances greatly vary, our limitation in our choices remains the same. At the end of the day, we must choose how to spend our limited time.

How do we make the most of our time? There are thousands of books out there with different thoughts, strategies, and theologies. But what does the Bible say? What does God say?

To me, what you find in the Bible is not so much as productivity hacks that tell you efficient strategies, but perspectives to form your mind around so that your thoughts and feelings align with what is most valuable. Take this proverb, for example:

“He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity, and honor.” (Proverbs 21:21)

There’s nothing about time here. But there is something about life. There is something about what to value in order to find a good life, and it merely reflects the same commandment that Jesus would give hundreds of years later: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). And the same goes for loving others. So what do you do with your time? It seems that the perspective is what you are loving, not necessarily what you are doing.

But of course, you have to do something. You can’t base your life on a fragile theology of love without action, or an admirable aim without a strong foundation. And that is what I think the key to it all is. It begins with God. It begins with love. With righteousness, strength, and mindset. That is the underlying foundation that bolsters the action in which you spend your day. Without a perspective on that which is most valuable, you cannot act on what is most valuable.

Take this story, for example. A theologian named Henri Nouwen once sought out the advice of Mother Teresa, in hopes that he would receive direction on how to live out his faith as a priest. Her response was, “Spend one hour a day in adoration of your Lord and never do anything you know is wrong.” What a powerful response. Perhaps it is all that simple. Again, you cannot focus on what you are doing without knowing who you are loving.

Choose your time wisely. No matter where you are or how you spend your time, there’s always room for our father. Our lives should be an outpouring of our always developing adoration for God. God is always there, but it’s up to us to spend time with him. Minute by minute, hour by hour, we will learn to shape our lives in the direction of God.

If you are in love with God, your life will reflect it. This doesn’t mean you can’t read any productivity strategies, learn ways to manage your time or find ways to live your life out more in service. But it all begins with God. Our adoration must be of chief and prime importance, and the actions come through it. And as the proverb says, through the pursuit of love and righteousness through God himself, we will find life, prosperity and honor.