Self Control With Time

Self-control is fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5) and also an important addition to faith to make one productive, prioritized and poised (2 Peter 1:5-11) Self-control must be found in all areas of our lives; Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:25, "And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things". We will have to give account of our self-control in our expenditure of time, surely one of our most precious gifts.

We can do one of three things with time. First, we can be "wasting" the time, in idleness. Second, we can be misusing time, in concentration on the carnal, or the temporal. Third, we can be "redeeming the time" (Ephesians 5:15, 16; Colossians 4:5). To redeem the time is another way of saying that we exert self-control, with reference to the time. The passages which employ our expression "redeeming the time" direct our attention to two major areas of our "walk:" our general manner of life is cited, in Ephesians; and our response to those who are not Christians, with an evangelistic thrust in view, in Colossians. We will consider self-control in time in the light of these passages.

"Look Therefore Carefully How Ye Walk ...

As Wise" (Ephesians 5:15, 16)

The word "walk" is used frequently in Scripture as a designation of our manner of life. Paul uses it this way eight times in the letter to the Ephesians. One will "redeem the time," by walking as wise; or he will fail to do this by walking "as unwise." Consider ways the walk of wisdom is described by Paul in the epistle to the Ephesians. In 5:17 it is the walk in harmony with the will of God: "Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." In 4:1 it is a walk "worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called," with additional specific directives of behavior. In 2:10 it is a walk in good works "which God afore prepared" (and compare 2 Timothy 3:16, 17). Ephesians 5:1 calls the walk of wisdom a walk "in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us ..."; and further down in the chapter this walk is "as children of light (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth" (verses 8, 9).

The point of all this, as it relates to "Self-Control In Time", is not that we put a watch on what we do, but that self-control in time is equivalent to redeeming the time. If we walk as wise, which is to say worthily of our calling, in good works, in love, and as children of light (to cite just a few specifics) we are "redeeming the time".

"Walk In Wisdom Toward Them That Are Without ..." (Colossians 4:5)

We understand "them that are without" to refer to those who are not Christians; and the passage thus to say that Christians have an obligation to those who are not Christians. This is consistent with Paul's declaration "I am a debtor both to Greeks and Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish . . . I am ready to preach the gospel to you also that are in Rome" (Rom. 1:14-15). The parable of the sower (Luke 8) leads us to understand that the reception of the seed which is the word of God is the responsibility of the one in whose heart it is sown, and that "You Never Mentioned Him To Me" will not have the slightest weight in amelioration of the guilt of sin. Those who love the truth are known by God, and the truth is made available to them (Acts 8:26-39) and vice-versa (2 Thess. 2:10). These things are indisputable.

It is equally indisputable that God has laid responsibility on men to seek to speak winsomely: "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer each one" (Colossians 4:6). Or, in other words, "speaking truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15); "speak thou the things which befit the sound doctrine" (Titus 2:1); in other words, to imitate the example of Paul and Barnabas who "so spake that a great multitude both of Jews and of Greeks believed" (Acts 14:1).

Our concern should be the salvation of those who are without, as well as of those who may have been overtaken in any trespass (Galatians 6:1). So we are called to exercise self-control, as did Nathan (2 Samuel 12) and Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:24-26). We will control our use of time so as to have occasion to speak to others of Christ, and even control ourselves as we do that speaking so as to not be quarrelsome or mean-spirited (2 Timothy 2:24; 1 Peter 3:15). In so behaving we will be redeeming the time, as many biblical heroes did giving of their time to help others know God.

Let us shrink from wasting time, it can never be replaced; let us not misuse time, the precious gift of life: let us ever be redeeming the time.