Killing Time

Unlike money, everyone gets the same number of hours in a day. Every day each one of us will let 24 hours pass. That's 1440 minutes in a day, 21, 915 hours a year. Don't you just wish you could deposit some time in the bank when you didn't want to spend it. Then you could go withdraw a couple of days for vacation and never even miss work. We know it doesn't work like that. We all spend our time as it comes. The question we must ask ourselves is: how are we going to spend our time?

According to a 1996 report by Pace Productivity Inc., the average American will spend 23 years of their life sleeping, 19 years traveling, six years eating, three years ill, two years doing personal care (like showering and brushing your teeth), and only one year involved in religious activities. How will you spend your life? Further research indicated that the average American adult will watch 24.2 hours per week watching television. Wow! That's over a whole day a week. How are you spending your time?

It is difficult for me to imagine someone actually wasting a whole day a week sitting in front of a television, but I can imagine how tempting it could be to let my senses lull to sleep in front of endless barrage of enticing images and sounds. Sometimes, I want to close my eyes to the needs of my work, family and community. I wish I could escape to the television worlds of E.R., Survivor, Law & Order, Lost, and even Little Bill. Still, every morning I awake to the decision to serve Christ through my church, my family, and my community.

Have you considered how you spend your time? Do you plan your time? Do you spend enough time with your family? Do you spend enough time on your spiritual growth? Is the time you spend at your job productive? How much time do you waste? Do you go home tired and still feel like you should have done more that day? Do you feel like your time is not appreciated or valued?

The Hartford First United Methodist Church would like to offer you some help in managing your time. I would like you to consider investing your time doing something that really matters: Serve God through your church. When you spend time in worship, outreach, study, spiritual growth, and evangelism you WILL feel valued, appreciated, and closer to God.

We are trying to find new ways for people to serve. Perhaps you have some ideas for a new ministry or outreach. I have written a few questions that might help you find a place to invest your time in ministry. They are:

1) What ministry/ministries are you currently doing, but are willing for someone else to do?

2) What ministry/ministries are you currently doing, and feel the need to continue doing?

3) What ministry/ministries do you know that need to be done, but no one seems to be doing?

4) What ministry/ministries would you like to do, but don't know where to start?

If answering these questions has given you some new sense of motivation for ministry, please call me at the church so we can plan a new ministry together for Christ's sake, your sake, and the sake of the community.