Time is a priceless commodity God has given us, it is not something we should squander. Paul tells the Colossians that we need to be wise in the way we act towards those who are not Christians and “make the most of every opportunity.” (Colossians 4:5) When we go about dissatisfied about everything, we invariably waste a lot of time, grumbling about this, avoiding that. We will have wasted every opportunity to “shine among them like stars in the sky” (Philippians 2:14-16)
Time is a priceless commodity, one not to squander. It can be very discouraging to witness to someone over and over again only to be rejected. I find Paul’s instructions to the Thessalonians interesting, “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life. Mind your own business… so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders” 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12. There is a time to witness with our mouth but it usually comes only after we have witnessed with our lives. We have to be wise in the way we deal with non-Christians, and wisdom starts by knowing that they will reject the Gospel often. We can’t waste time by trying to convince someone of the Gospel when they aren’t ready but we also can’t squander our time being discouraged and discouraging them from Christ.
Time is a priceless commodity. The words in Col 4:5 which is often translated “make most of” is a Greek word referencing the purchase of something. It reminds us of the attitude that a lot of buyers take on Black Friday. They camp out for hours patiently waiting for the doors to open on their favorite store then dash in grabbing quite possessively, even fighting for every item on their list at that great Black Friday price. Our friends, family, neighbors are just that, another priceless commodity that we need to wisely act towards, not getting discouraged, but living our lives full of joy and encouragement in patience so that when that door opens, we can dash in and make most of the opportunity.
Question
Whose lives are you camping out patiently, preparing eagerly for the opportunity to lead them to Christ?
