Issue #20, December 2, 2009
All effective leaders recognize that the way they use time will greatly determine their level of success. While many time management principles are universal for all leaders, servant leaders seek to manage their time well for different reasons. The writer of the Psalms said, “Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life” (Ps 39:4).
What do servant leaders recognize about time?
Servant leaders see time as a gift from God.
The psalmist cried out to God to reveal to him the nature of time and recognized the precious gift of time which God had given to him. Seeing time from God’s perspective allows the leader to acknowledge that every moment is a precious gift from God. The leader cannot increase the time available; every person alive has 86,400 seconds every day. This gift, like all gifts, is to be received with gratitude and used in ways that the giver intended. A servant leader acknowledges that time is a precious gift and that God will require an account of how it has been used.
Servant leaders are committed to accomplishing God’s purposes with time.
The psalmist acknowledged that without God’s perspective he would not understand God’s purposes for his life. The gift of time is given to each of us as a tool to carry out the purposes of God for our lives, nothing more and nothing less. God has a special purpose for each leader. For some it is a call to pastor a church; for another it is a call to lead a business or to influence in the field of education or law. To each one, God calls and then provides enough time to carry out that purpose. Time management is not so much about doing more of what I want to do with my time, but more effectively fulfilling God’s purpose for my life with the time He has provided.
Many cultures view time as cyclical in nature. Therefore, what I don’t get done today I can do tomorrow. There will be another chance because time is limitless. Other cultures view time as a commodity that is running out and therefore the clock rules. But the biblical view of time is that we are moving forward in history. Time has a purpose. Our days have a number and while we can’t calculate how many remain, we can easily count how many have gone. (I’m on day 17,182 as I write this issue.) That’s why we say that we “spend” time. Once it is gone, it cannot be recovered.
Servant leaders focus on using time well to meet the needs of others.
Secular time management focuses on efficiency for the sake of maximizing personal gain. Although efficiency is a great value, it is not the ultimate characteristic of servant leaders. The ‘bottom line’ for servant leaders is not simply efficiency, profit or growth; it is serving those God has allowed us to influence. Servant leaders manage their time well in order to serve others; they focus on investing time in others rather than spending time.
Because servant leaders view time as a gift from God, to be used to accomplish His purposes, they seek to maximize their time to meet the needs of others.
With this foundation, in our next issue we’ll look at several tips to help us use time more effectively. Meanwhile, take a moment to reflect on how you have been viewing time. Thank God for His gift of time today and ask Him to help you use it effectively.
For further reflection and discussion:
- Do I see my time as a gift from God that should be gratefully received? Have I thanked Him lately for this gift?
- What are God’s three primary purposes for my life? Does my calendar reflect these purposes? Why or why not?
- Am I spending adequate time on the things that are most important to God’s heart? If not, what needs to change?
- Have I used my time today to meet the needs of others that God brings across my path?
- Does my culture view time as a cycle or as a limited resource? How does this affect the way I ‘spend’ my time?
- What day of my life am I living now? (The process of calculating how many days you have been alive is a sobering reminder of the passage of time and one application of the psalmists request to know the ‘number’ of our days.)