If you’re like me you keep telling yourself, “There’s just not enough hours in the day.” We just can’t seem to get everything done-can we? I was struck with this thought when I just happened to notice the ever- growing stack of unread books on and around my desk. I couldn’t read all these books in a month, even if I read several hours a day. Wow—I hate that. These are really good books, not junk publications. I want to read them and there is much I could learn from them, but I don’t have the time.
Now this same argument could be made in reference to a lot of things in life. We can all think of tons of things that would be both enjoyable and profitable to do-then there are those things that really do need our attention, but they’re not so fun! So, what do we do? I feel like saying, “Figure it out for yourself!” But, that sounds rude. And, you’re probably thinking, “What in the world am I doing wasting my time reading this junk?” Fair enough. The fact is, you could be doing things that are more important. And I could say, “Figure it out for yourself.”
The fact is, dear friend, you really do have to figure it out for yourself. We’re all different and we all have different circumstances. While there are some general rules we should follow in deciding what we should do—keeping our priorities in their proper place, we cannot allow our actions to be decided by others. Some of you are worn out and some of you are burned out, and you need a little R &R. Don’t let anyone put you on a guilt trip by insisting that you should do as they say. Do what you need to do and don’t worry about the critics. On the other hand some of you are up to your eyeballs in work and, as much as you would like to rest, you need to get in over your head and finish the job. No one else can tell you what you should do. You have time to do only so much, but that’s plenty of time if you are at peace with God about it.
Contrary to what a lot of folks say, God gives us considerable leeway in choosing our course of action. I don’t think God cares about the color of your socks or what shade of lipstick you wear. Figure it out for yourself and whatever you decide will be just fine. My point is this-get yourself out from under the self-imposed pressure and start enjoying life like God intended. Since you’re not responsible for everything on earth, there’s plenty of time to do what you should. Think about it! I think I’ll go fishing!
