So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.    Colossians 3:1-4 HCSB

I don’t know about you, but I was raised being told that I should not be wasteful. My mom was referring to time, money, and food. I was taught that time was precious and should not be wasted. My mom grew up during the depression. I think her family faired well during those times, but she was careful about how she spent her money. We were taught not to waste food because of those poor starving children in other countries.

When we waste things, there is a good chance that we will pay the price for doing so. If you waste food, you could find yourself being hungry later. If you spend money on things you don’t need you could find yourself lacking the money to pay for necessities. When we waste time we can’t get it back. We each only have so much time here on planet earth. We must use this time wisely. We should not use it worrying about things that we cannot change. We should use it to focus on Christ and the things He has for us to do. We are told in Romans 8:28 that all things work for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. If we love the Lord, He has first place in our hearts and in our minds. If we are called according to His purpose, this means we are doing the work He has assigned us to do.

Often times when I feel myself feeling anxiety or depression, I realize that it’s because I have my focus in the wrong place. When my focus is misplaced then I begin to waste precious time. I spend time worrying about things on earth that I have no control over instead of spending my time and thoughts on those things above.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33 that we must first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for us.

If we want to worry there’s plenty of things we can worry about. Just check the headlines in the news and you will see that the world is basically going to hell in a handbasket as my grandmother used to say. There are all kinds of natural disasters, crime is on the rise, sexual sin and perversion is being glorified. There are lots of things to worry about, just take your pick. But, the Bible tells us we should not worry about these things. We are to focus on Christ.

When we are told in Philippians 4:8 to focus on the things that are pure and lovely and worthy of honor and praise. What is more pure and lovely and worthy of our honor and praise than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? He should be first in our hearts and in our minds.

So I ask you today, are you wasting time? You see some of us are so busy making a living and/or raising our families or whatever it is that drains all of our time and attention that we have lost our focus on what’s most important. Are you too busy trying to make more money to go to church? Are you too busy taking the kids to do “fun” stuff on Sunday to go to church? If so, you are wasting your time.

Now, I understand that we all have to work to support ourselves and our loved ones, but if you are neglecting your relationship with the Lord to work you might want to rethink that. If you are raising your kids to think that Sundays are “fun” days and by fun we mean skipping church, you might want to rethink that.

You see this old earth is going to pass away and so are we. But, Jesus says in Matthew 24:35 that His words will never pass away. We will leave this earth, but we will spend eternity either in heaven or hell.

My friend if you are not setting your mind and your focus on things above, you are wasting precious time. If you are not doing all you can to lead others around you to do the same, you are wasting time. Just imagine what a wonderful place this world would be if we all focused on Christ.

When we focus on Christ, He will even provide fun for us. We will find joy in our daily lives.

Our time on earth is extremely short compared to the eternity that we will spend either in heaven or in hell. I encourage you to use this small bit of time wisely and stay focused on Him. He will handle everything else.

Have a great day!