Use Your Time Wisely

Paul advises us to make the best use of the time, because the days are evil (Eph. 5:16). We may want to heed his warning, especially now that we spend so much time on our phones. 

Last year, Americans spent an average of a little more than seven hours on screens outside of work and school. Three and a half of those hours were spent looking at our phones. I get it. We use our phones for everything. And many important things need to be done on screens. But seven hours? That’s a lot of time. 

The most common excuse for not achieving our goals is, “I didn't have enough time.” The statistics on screen time call this argument into question. If we can find seven hours a day to stare at a screen, surely there is enough time for the more important things in life. 

For example, it takes just twelve minutes a day to read the Bible in a year. Most Christians agree that the Bible should be read, but they have never read it in its entirety. On average, they’re spending enough time on screens to read the Bible through 35 times a year! Can we not shave twelve minutes off our screen time for God? 

Want to get into shape? Doctors say two to four hours of exercise a week is all you need to do to live a long life. That’s only a fraction of the time we spend on technology per day! 

A college degree is 120 credit hours. That's only 17 days of screen time. 

In the time we spend on our screens, we could go to the moon and back 18 times! 

During the pandemic when we were shut into our homes, I worried about our members who were completely isolated. I couldn't make visits, so I spent a lot of time on the phone. I remember being surprised at how long it took to make those phone calls. I’d set out to contact 12 or 15 folks and after four hours realized I had only talked to six people. That seemed like a lot of time, but when you compare it to how much time we spend looking at mindless drivel online, four hours connecting with people who are lonely doesn't seem unreasonable at all. 

The point is, if you are one of those people driving the average screen time up, there are better ways to be using your time. Think about what you do on your phone. Consider the time you spend online. Are those hours going toward valuable pursuits? Are you investing in your goals? Are you frustrated because there's so much you want to do, and you just can't seem to find the time to do it? God has given you the time. The problem is that you are not using it wisely. 

Make the most of your time. The days are evil.

Drew Kizer