Matthew 6: 1-34

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

Time is of the Essence

What kind of person are you when it comes to dealing with time? Are you a down to the last minute get everything done as quick as possible? Or are you the type that takes their time and carefully executes every detail of the plan? What gets you motivated? Can you relax and work or do you have to constantly move? 

It seems that we're always moving now in days, but what are we moving towards? That appointment? That game? What about moving towards God? Many of us don't really think about it, since we typically only go to church once a week, but time is of the essence. How much time do you think you have left on Earth? How much time do you think you have to change your ways? How much time do you think you have to make things right with your past?

Several times a week I personally have to stop and remember that this world isn't here for long. Sure it seems that life will be forever, or that it will move on without us, but what happens when it's too late? What happens when you can't go back and apologize for a mistake or rude comment? What happens even you realize you weren't the nicest of a person to that elderly lady driving on the road because you were late and thought you were more important? What happens when you realize you don't have enough time to make up for the lost time of not spending enough with your kids and they're all grown up? 

Sometimes we need to realize that we won't live forever. We have to realize also that our lives aren't more important than others. We need to sometimes slow down and relax. God didn't say that we should work on Sunday, but rather to keep the holy day Sabbath. We need to slow down and fix our wrongs. Pray a little more for help from God. We need to help others and treat our neighbors like we wanted to be treated. Love them, care for them, and pray for them. 

After all, when we're called from this Earth, to you really think God is going to judge you on how well you work or how you get your projects done well? No, He's going to judge you on your character. Were you nice to your neighbors even even you had a rough day? Were you ok to that elderly lady in traffic and not cutting her off? Did you decide to stop your work for some time to spend with your kids? You're character is what will weigh more than anything because character is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.

So what are you going to differently from now on? What are you going to go back and apologize for or try to make right? After all, you might have more limited time than you think. So remember, time is of the essence.