How should I use my time? That is an important questions. Time is a limited commodity in each person’s life. The Lord has only given so much of it to each individual, and determined its exact number. Psalm 139:16 teaches, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” So God the Creator gives to man the gift of time. And therefore man the creature is not to use it for himself. He is a steward of them. He manages what he has on behalf of the One who gave it. Psalm 90:12 puts it this way: “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” That represents a (very) basic, biblical understanding of time and man’s relationship with it. But that framework often gets tested in real-life, and man tends to fall in one of two ditches.

Work, Work, Work

One danger is to use time as if it is only given for production. And productivity is definitely a biblical virtue. For example, the apostle Paul worked extremely hard. He describes what he was willing to do for the sake of the church in Thessalonica. “For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.” (1 Thes. 2:9). Biographies of the giants of history often reveal men with tremendous work ethics. Also in Christian history, men like John Wesley and George Whitfield accomplished so much because they worked incredibly hard. In the workplace, Yahoo Finance reported that during the launch of Tesla’s Model 3, Elon Musk was working 120 hours per week. And though it may be admirable on one level, this kind of dedication to production is neither healthy nor commendable for the vast majority of people.

• Sabbath. The fact that the Lord has woven into His creation the idea of Sabbath rest renders the conclusion that we must always be productive unlikely. In giving the fourth commandment, the Lord said that man is to labor six days and rest one (Exodus 20:9-10). Weekly worship and rest is woven into creation as an essential use of man’s time.
• Festival. Thinking specifically of the prolonged feasts of the Old Testament, week-long festivals to the Lord were an extended break from productive labor (Leviticus 23:33). Considering even the Sabbath years and the Year of Jubilee, an extensive period of rest from productive labor was expected.
• Relationship. Some of the relational expectations placed on Christians in the Bible means they have to cease from productive labor. For example, the husband is to cherish his wife (Ephesians 5:29), fathers are to bring up their children (Ephesians 6:4), Christians are called to serve each other in the Church (1 Peter 4:10).

Productive labor is to be exercised with proper proportion. Life is more same work, work, work. A blind drive to work indicates that one part of what God calls Christians to do has been taken to excess, or maybe even become an idol.

Fun, Fun, Fun

The opposite danger is a constant desire for recreation. There is a softness that comes when labor is neglected and replaced with idleness. Overindulgence of recreation and excessive use of digital escape (social media, cellphone games, etc.) is one expression of what happens when man turns in on pleasing self. Demandsage reports: “The average US screen time has reached 7 hours and 3 minutes.” That is on average. That is each day. Extrapolate that over a year and the average person spends 2,573 hours per year on their phone. That is about about enough time for one man to build a 1,500 square foot house from scratch. To be fair, not all the time spent on a phone is necessarily poorly used. But even if half of it is, that leaves 1,286 hours unaccounted for per year. That is the equivalent of 161 8-hour work days. Compare that to the 52-104 hours Christians spend on corporate worship in a year (6½-13 work days), it’s pretty clear there is an imbalance. Instead of using time in such a neglectful way, the Bible points out more beneficial considerations.

• Productive work. Paul calls the Thessalonians to deal strongly with a person who is constantly idle. In 2 Thessalonians 3:11-12 he gives this command: “For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.” So, though productive labor is not everything for the Christian, it is something.
• Stewardship. In a 52 week year, there are 260 work days. Taken the average, that means Americans are on their screen for 62% of one year’s work days. How much work could be done for the church if people gave the equivalent of 160 work days to church ministry and evangelism? There is a limited amount of time in life and to spend such an exorbitant amount of it being entertained is not good stewardship. The glory of God demands more from His people. The apostle Paul often speaks of the intensity of his efforts to use the time he had been given well (1 Cor. 15:10; Col. 1:29; 1 Thes. 2:9). The Christian church today would do well to imitate that zeal.
• Spiritual growth. When time is allocated in one area, it eliminates the possibility of its use in another. Spiritual growth and discipline require the commitment of time. Scripture reading and prayer require time. Working out God’s salvation in fear and trembling requires study, practice, and attention. To neglect allocating time to spiritual improvement means the church will be less theologically robust and spiritually mature.

Balance

The answer to how I should use my time is to consider it from the perspective of time being God-given. God does give time for man to enjoy the good things of this life. The Christian need not be averse to recreations and enjoyment. Life is not all work. Neither should he leave off the hard labor that comes and pursue only the life of ease. Man’s chief end is the glorify God, and that is relevant for considering the stewardship of time as well.