By Todd Paetznick, July 25, 2024

Flourishing over a lifetime requires a consistent focus on achieving our primary objective. That objective should be bringing glory to God and furthering His kingdom. What interests me is the actions we take to achieve that objective change over time.  

As Christians, we know the “right” things to say and do that are expected of us by other Christians. But, we should be more concerned about what God thinks about how we use the time He has given us to live, work, and serve.  It is relatively easy to say the primary objective of our lives is centered around God and how He wants us to live.  Putting our words into practice can be more difficult, and none of us will always get it right.  Still, we must work to improve ourselves and how we represent Jesus Christ in every facet of our lives.  As a self-diagnostic, examining how we use our time will reveal our true priorities.  

Being constantly pulled in directions we know we should not go is nothing new.  The apostle Paul also struggled with the difference between what he knew he needed to do and what he did.  He writes, “For I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want [to do,] but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15 NASB20).  The struggle to do the right thing was as real for Paul as it is for us.  His awareness of perceived failures did not mean he gave up trying to do the right thing; instead, Paul focused on his goal, adjusted his actions, and became one of the most highly effective missionaries of the gospel in history.  

There is no single best model for effectively using our given moments.  From the time we are born until we are called home to be with our Lord, our bodies change, our roles in the world change, and the things we do change. This is as it is supposed to be.  God made us for change.  As children, our primary tasks are learning and preparing for adulthood. As adults, we strive to achieve our full potential, earn a living, and build the next generation. As elders, our primary task is disseminating wisdom and purpose to the younger generations. Each life stage aims to glorify God as its objective, but our actions change.  “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

Individuals’ actions also vary.  Not every person will think, talk, or act like me (thankfully).  God intentionally made us different from each other and dependent on each other.  We have been created to serve in different roles, pursue different vocations, and most of us even look different from each other.  We have different abilities and different needs.  And, to put a point on it, what we need from other people will also vary across our lifetimes.  We were utterly dependent on other people as babies and are often entirely dependent on other people at various other times during our lives.

Next week, we will consider in more detail how we are using our time and determine whether what we say is a priority in our lives is backed up by our actions.