Time Flies: Catch It Before It Lifts Off!
You have probably heard grown-ups say things like, “Time flies! I feel like I took a nap, woke up, and ten years have gone by.” When adults say things like that, they usually mean that time has gone by too quickly for them to do many of the things they wanted to do in life. Instead, they feel like they have used too much of their time doing things that are not very important. If they had it to do all over again, they would have made better use of their time when they were younger—like you are now.
Why are we here on Earth? Did God put us here just to have fun and play? Or to get the things we want, like toys; or to do the things we want to do, like go to Disney World; or to watch the shows and movies we want to watch? No. Doing those things can be fine, but the main reason we are on Earth is to honor God and do right (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14), to help the Church that Christ died for (Matthew 6:33), and to do good to others (Galatians 6:10). Basically, we are here on Earth to love others—both God and people (Matthew 22:36-40).
So, if that is the purpose of life, how much of our time should be used in pursuit of that goal? All of it. Let me explain. We must make good use of the little time that we have on Earth to do as much good for God and others as we can. In Ephesians 6:15-16 Paul warns us to be “wise, making the best use of the time” that we have (ESV). There is nothing wrong with playing, as long as when we are doing that, we are doing it for the right reason: that is, so we can get refreshed and ready to get back to what God wants us to be doing for others. So notice that even our fun time should really be about loving others. Ourwhole life should be about that. (That understanding might even cause us to do different things with our leisure time!) When we stay busy doing what God wants us to do, we will have less time to be doing things God does not want us to do. At the same time, God says we will be happier for doing so (Matthew 5:2-12; Proverbs 16:20).
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