“Redeeming the Time”

Saturday, January 16, 2021

Redeeming the Time

Wade Webster

To the saints at Ephesus, Paul wrote, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16; Col. 4:5).  Redeeming means to buy up or to buy back.  Paul knew that time was precious.  Like James, he knew that life was a vapor that appeared for a little time before vanishing away (Jam. 4:13-14).  He knew that we could be so busy here and there that we lose focus on what really matters (1 Kings 20:39-40).  Paul wanted the saints to focus on eternal things and to make the most of their time.

Paul Meyer observed that “time is usually wasted in the same way every day.”[i]  No doubt, all of us could streamline our days a little.  How could redeeming this time change our lives?

Leadership expert John Maxwell illustrated what impact a few minutes saved each day could have over the course of a year.  If you were able to save:

• Five minutes by trimming your morning routine (taking less time to shower, shave, put on make-up, drink coffee, etc.)
• Ten minutes by cutting out the things you do each morning to stall starting your work or school day?
• Five minutes by avoid vain talk or distractions?
• Ten minutes by taking a shorter lunch or break time?

If you did those things every day, five days a week, for fifty weeks a year, you would gain an additional 125 hours of time every year.  That would be the equivalent of three forty hour weeks to use for anything you want.[ii]  Imagine how much more of the Bible you would know in a year’s time if you used that time for Bible study (John 5:39; Acts 17:11; 2 Tim. 2:15; Rev. 1:3).  Imagine how many more people you could help in a year if you used that time for service (Gal. 5:13; 6:2).  Imagine how many more doors you could knock and how many more people you could teach in personal Bible studies (Acts 8:4; 20:20; 1 Pet. 3:150.  Imagine how much the stress of your home would subside if you spent that time at home (1 Pet. 3:7; Tit. 2:4-5; Deut. 6:4-9).  Our prayer should be that of that of Moses, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psa. 90:12).  Our attitude must be that of Jesus: “I must work the works of Him that sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no man can work” (John 9:4).  

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