Matthew 7:6 “’Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.’”
It is interesting that Jesus picked two unclean (kosher) animals for this illustration. These animals ate garbage, lived in squalor, went back to their own vomit and generally “acted like pigs.” They might make interesting pets but as wild animals, you would not want them around.
Principle: Guard your work and your schedule with firmness and wisdom.
Limit your schedule with timewasters who entangle you in their agendas. They can diminish your productivity and reputation. Guard against time-wasting things that creep into a working day by unloading tasks that do not belong to you, un-wanted e-mails, unsolicited phone calls, drop-in visits, and other diversions even if they are interesting.
The discernment here is that we allow time in our schedule for divine intervention. It would be wrong to automatically screen out everyone who is not going to contribute to our productivity. Do not allow your work life to be bogged down with meaningless phone calls or electronic interruptions.
Make time for family, friends, and the needy. Do not let guilt or greed drive you but delegate and be discerning about what you let into your schedule. There are only 168 hours in a week. Nobody has more time, and nobody has a “day stretcher.” You cannot re-capture wasted time.
The opposite extreme is to invest all your waking hours and energy in work. A Christian CEO group was poled about time spent at work. 65% said they work 40 hours per week or less, 25% worked up to 50 hours a week and 10% worked over 50 hours a week. 65% spend up to 20 hours a week outside of their office thinking about their business.
If work is ministry, protecting time is up to God. It is true that a forty-hour workweek is not the way to riches. Bill Gates said, “Religious practice does not have the time priority for me to include it in my schedule.” I guess that is one reason he is rich but probably not rich in Christ.
Discussion:
1. Are you discerning about personal interruptions?
2. How many hours a week do you average lately?
3. In an average week, how tightly scheduled are your days? Where can you limit meaningless interruptions to give you more time to focus on important, necessary tasks?
