Is Time Killing You?

Ephesians 5:15-16
(15) Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,
(16) making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

I've come to the realization that this statement reigns true: "Comfort Kills Christians." What do you think? How is comfort a part of your life? As I drove home December 15, listening to sermons by John MacArthur, I had envisioned an awesome time at home: spending much time with God, working a little bit, and resting from this past hectic semester. Unfortunately, after one week, resting and relaxing turned into laziness and I found myself compromising in many areas. My time with God was absent as I sat in front of the TV, spent countless hours playing video games, and many more sitting here on my laptop. How could this outcome have occurred? What happened to this vision of rich time with God? Comfort, my friends...

Com-fort (n): (Webster 1828)
1. Relief from pain; ease; rest or moderate pleasure after pain, cold or distress or uneasiness of body. The word signifies properly new strength, or animation;
2. Relief from distress of mind; the ease and quiet which is experienced when pain, trouble, agitation or affliction ceases. It implies also some degree of positive animation of the spirits; or some pleasurable sensations derived from hope, and agreeable prospects; consolation.

Com-fort (n): (Merrian-Webster 2008)
1. Strengthening aid: a) assistance, support "accused of giving aid and comfort to the enemy" b) consolation in time of trouble or worry
2. a) A feeling of relief or encouragement b): contented well-being "a life of ease and comfort"
3. a satisfying or enjoyable experience

There are similarities between these two versions, but I think you should notice one major difference here, mainly 2a & 2b of the '08 version: these are paradoxes. While I myself am not much of a wordsmith, I think the definition of comfort has dramatically made a shift. Comfort is supposed to bring strength, not laziness. And by the very definition of the word, if you are living a lifestyle of comfort, that means you have a content well-being...should this be so? Christians, we must steer from the Osteen "Best Life Now" fallacy; we must never think that we should always be in comfort.

Jesus said "in the world you will have tribulation" (John 16:33). This means times of hardship. I'm not saying that comfort is necessarily a bad thing, but in our context today we need much caution; moderation is imperative. I told numerous individuals I looked forward to relaxing over the break...maybe you pondered the same thought. What came to your mind as you thought about it more? Sleeping 14 hours every day? Catching up on your "Grey's Anatomy," "Entourage," "24," "Price is Right," or "The Office" television shows? Playing "Warcraft," "Call of Duty," or "Guitar Hero?" Where was God in the picture? Maybe, like me, He was at the start but somehow drifted as other things became more desirable. Curiosity kills the cat, comfort kills the Christian.

Much exegesis and studying of Ephesians 5:15-16 is not required to understand the basic concept of how much time we waste. If you're wise, you'll make good use of the time; if you're unwise, time is going to help you waste away;

<> Ecclesiastes 9:12 "For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them."
<>Psalm 39:5 "Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!"
<>James 4:14 "...you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
<>1 Peter 1:24-25 "for 'All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, [25]but the word of the Lord remains forever.'"

It is a foreseeable reality that our life here is only a mist. How then must we spend our time? Certainly not wasting it. "We're on borrowed time all the time, and all the time we got is all the time we got, and one day all the time will stop" (Unknown Christian rapper). Maybe you've had a great break; maybe your time with God has been rich and has made you stronger & wiser, if so praise Him. But for those of you who, myself included, who have just been wasting your time, either over this break, this past semester or any duration of time, take a look at yourself and see what's been accomplished.

Will you yield Solomon's grief?

Ecclesiastes 2:11 "Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind..."

OR

Will you take on Paul's wisdom?

"Look carefully then how you walk...as wise...making the best use of the time..."

I pray you have been encouraged,
T-rav

Proverbs 14:27 "The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death."