Putting Pencil to Paper
In our last post we talked about reflecting on 2018 and just how blessed we truly are. Today, I want us to look at our New Year’s resolutions. We have all been there before. We make these grand predictions about what we are going to accomplish over the course of the next year. For some, the focus is on losing weight. Others want a new job. More money. Bigger house. Success. These are all great things to work towards but in the end, they all have one thing in common. They are all temporary. In the grand scheme of things, they don’t matter. When it is all said and done, they will fade away just like the rest of this earth. Depressing? It shouldn’t be. It should be relieving. I want to challenge you to make a New Year’s resolution that matters. One that will stand the test of time. Let’s make a resolution to get closer to God. If each of us will make a commitment and stick with it to get closer to God, then the world in which we live will have no choice but to get closer to God.
When you make a New Year’s resolution, you are making a statement that you are going to COMMIT yourself to something until that something is attained. The word “commit” or “commitment” is used very loosely in today’s world. It really doesn’t mean anything anymore. Marriages are just as likely to end in divorce as it is to remain intact. People stab each other in the back in the business world daily. There is very little commitment being made today.
What does it mean to commit to something? When you commit to something or someone, you are saying that your focus is on that particular task or person. You will give max effort to fulfilling that task or providing fulfillment to a certain person. They have your attention. You are dedicated to them only.
How about commitment to God? In the business world there’s an old phrase that says, “Let’s put pencil to paper and see if this works out”. This phrase means let’s crunch the numbers and make sure that it is a good deal. That’s what we are going to do now. We are going to put pencil to paper and see how our deal between us and God works out. In order for this exercise to work, you must be HONEST with yourself. Don’t provide yourself excuses. If you are not willing to do this, then this will be of no benefit to you. It will require a little math but don’t let that scare you. If you finished 5th or 6th grade you should be fine. Let’s get started.
First, let’s figure up how much time we actually have on our hands during a calendar year.
24 hours per day and 7 days a week
24 X 7 = 168 hours per week
There are 52 weeks in a year.
So 168 hours per week X 52 weeks per year = 8,736 hours per year
So we have 8,736 hours per year to live. Now for simplicity we are going to assume that we all sleep 8 hours per day.
365 days/year X 8 hours/day = 2,920 hours of sleep per year
8,736 hours/year – 2,920 hours sleep/year = 5,816 hours per year that we are awake
So in an average year we have 5,816 hours in order to get things done. Again for simplicity we are going to assume 8 hours per day at 5 days per week will be spent at work.
52 weeks/year X 5 working days/week = 260 working days
260 working days/year X 8 hours work/day = 2,080 working hours per year
So when we subtract our working hours per year (2,080) from our total hours to get things done in the year (5,816), you get 3,736 hours. This represents the amount of time we have per year that is not taken up by our job or sleep. You can consider this YOUR time.
5,816 hrs we are awake/year – 2,080 working hrs/year = 3,736 your time/year
Stay with me. We have figured out to this point that we have on average, 3,736 hours per year to do what we want/need personally. What do we do with this time? This is where the honesty comes in. What do you do with your time? Is it really YOUR time?
We often want to think that our lives are OUR lives. We think we should be able to do whatever it is that we want regardless of how it affects us or others. What if we started living our lives as if they were GOD’S lives. What if we started living each breath like it was as precious as it really is. We never consider each breath of life until it begins to feel like it might be our last. Now, back to the math.
Let’s now consider church. Do you go? If so, how much? Are you dedicated? Or, do you only go when it’s convenient? If something comes up, does it automatically replace church? People are very possessive. We want what we think is ours and we are rarely willing to give it up. Especially our time.
For the sake of this exercise, we are going to assume that church occurs Sunday morning for 2 hours, Sunday night for 1 hour, and Wednesday night for 1 hour. That is a total of 4 hours per week for church.
52 weeks/year X 4 hours/week at church = 208 hours per year for church
So, out of 8,736 hours per year, church only asks for 208 hours. That is 2.38% of our life each year. Of the 3,736 hours we are awake, that would equal 5.5% of our time. Only 5.5% of our time. Yet so many of us are unwilling to COMMIT to this. Much less read our Bible at home or pray on our own time.
Now let’s compare this to other things. I am married to a wonderful woman. I REALLY outkicked my coverage! (Guys you know what I am talking about) How long do you think I would remain married if I gave my wife only 5.5% of my life. And during that 5.5%, I almost never talked to her or even acknowledged that she was there. Not long. Why? because she would not feel that I was COMMITED to our relationship. In fact, you couldn’t even call it a relationship. A relationship is a two way street. Yet everyday we expect God to be okay with this. Why is that? And if this is what we want our relationship with God to be like, why are we so surprised when the world is how it is? I tell my Sunday School class all time, you get out of church what you put into it. If you make no effort, don’t expect any results.
God deserves more. God deserves better. He deserves more than 5.5% of our time. Do we even care? If we are not willing to make that minimal of a commitment, I would say not. Jesus addresses commitment in Luke chapter 9:
“And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:59-62
This sounds harsh on Jesus’ part. After all, He is telling people to not bury a loved one or even going to tell people at their home goodbye. I think Jesus’ point is that we cannot allow the temporary things of this life get in the way of our serving God. God should be first above all else. We will often make excuses to allow things come before God, and these excuses will often sound valid (just like the man in the scripture wanting to bury his father first). We will often use excuses like “family time” to replace church. Or, “It’s my time to relax”. We put jobs, money, family, hobbies, etc. in front of God almost daily. When we do this, we are no different than the Israelites worshiping a golden calf. These things have become our idol.
Paul tells us in Hebrews 10:25
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is: but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
When we take the attitude of “I can have church wherever I am at. I don’t need to go to the actual church building.”, we are going against the very teaching of the Bible. The purpose of church is to worship God and to help build each other up (exhort). It has meaning. Our churches are dying today because Christians are not showing up. It has nothing to do with the lost people having no interest. Church is for Christians not the lost. Church is for the worship of God, building each other up, and to prepare Christians to go out into the world to proclaim the Gospel. If we want to see the world turn to God, then we first need to have Christians return to God.
So, let this be an encouragement to you to commit yourself to a 2019 that will bring you as close to God that you have ever been. Happy New Year and God bless.