Spend Your Life Wisely

I remember this TV show, or maybe call it a short film, I saw when I was a kid. I don't think it was a Twilight Zone episode, but it could have been one. It was 1 of 4 stories that were run all together on some special that would air now and again.

The gist is this -- it's a different world where the currency you spend is minutes of your actual life. The main characters were a brother and sister. The brother works and saves all his "life" (pun intended) and ends up with some insane amount of years. The sister is about to run out and is in the casino gambling her last little bit away to try and get more time, but failing.

The catch? You can't give your time away.

But there are these "elder" beings of some sort. The "in charge" dudes who run the show. You can make one special request of them. Usually the special requests are "give me more time!" Maybe sometimes they are "give someone else more time!" but I don't explicitly remember that. But the brother's one request, as his sister is about to die, is quite unique. He asks for all his time to be given to her. Wow.

It's funny how we're drawn into these stories of self-sacrifice for others. It's almost like that's wired in us by God or something.

That's where the story stops in my head. I don't remember the end, if there even was one. For me, it's irrelevant, especially for the point I want to make here.

Spend your life wisely. Or as John Piper wrote in a book (and as a title) -- don't waste your life. This message is not alone. Remember the story Jesus told about the guys who were given a bunch of money by their master? The first two guys multiplied it and the master was happy and wanted them to enter his joy. Do you remember what he said about the third dude? The one who did nothing with it and gave it back? "You wicked and slothful servant!"

Ouch. I don't want Jesus to call me wicked and slothful. I'd rather go for good and faithful.

And I must confess, God's convicted me on this lately in one area of my life. He didn't even convict me hard on it. He just kind of took away my desire for something I've obsessed about for quite a while now that ate a chunk of "free" time. Sow to righteousness, reap to righteousness. Sow to Halo, reap to Halo. Forget that. I mean really, with all that we can do in this world, that's what I'm going to choose to spend that much of my time on? Hardly edifying. All it did is feed my lust to win and fuel my foul mouth when I didn't. Nuts to that. I'd rather buy from Jesus "gold refined by fire" than work so hard at something so trivial.

Don't get me wrong. This is not about works salvation. I'm not saved because of any good work I do, but rather I do good works because I have been saved and have been given a new heart that desires to seek God and do what is right (despite failing to do so at times!). Yes, my works will be judged, by my standing before God will be based on the work Jesus already did on the cross.

Don't get me wrong. This is not about legalism or stifling our freedoms. I am free to do a lot of things -- but as Paul wrote "not all things are helpful". Rest and play are good things, but I am supposed to have self control, not be driven by desire. Some rest. Some play. Build myself up in knowledge and love. Use that to build others up. Stuff like that.

Don't get me wrong. This is not about forcing things that are by my own efforts and laboring really hard to get them done. If they are not of God, my labor is in vain. There is no point, and I should just use my time more wisely and sleep, or watch paint dry. If we're driving ourselves nuts and stressing out and making should-be-joyful things into burdens-of-the-LORD, then we're missing something and our efforts are for nothing.

Get me right. I'm talking about choice here. We have been given a finite span of life on this earth. It only lasts so long -- but there is an eternity, and what we do now in this life does affect the next one. How much are we going to spend of that life for our own comfort, convenience, and pleasure now, or in retirement? How much are we going to spend providing ourselves with "moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail"?

I know less of the former and more of the latter is right. I pray that I really get it and really live it, because I know that I have gotten complacent and lazy toward the kingdom, which is a tragedy. Praise God for his patience and love!