OK, it is confession time, and as we know confession is good. James encourages us to confess our sins to one another and prayer for each other (Jas 5:16). As a pastor it is not always, ok not ever, easy to confess sins openly. Why you ask? Because it makes us vulnerable and open to criticism and critique that we see so many people doing to one another in the world and even the church. Here we go… I am a procrastinator and have allowed time to become my master – there I said it. Whew —– were you expecting something else? As a pastor, leader, husband, father wasting time is an egregious and horrific sin. Let me explain.
We only have so much time and as Christians, especially as a leader, we must use our time wisely, not allowing it to master us but for us to master it! No, we cannot add time or extend the time God has given us, but we can use it faithfully. Peter writes that we must make the best use of our time (Eph. 5:16). The Greek word exagorazo used in this passage is better stated that we must redeem our time. We do this by redeeming our time from the world, using it for Christ instead of our flesh.
My sin is putting things of importance off and doing things that could wait. What does this mean? It makes me an ineffective leader because when someone comes to talk about important issues, hospital visits arise, or matter of greater importance occur, I am not ready. So today I am redeeming the time prayerfully, with the help of Christ. The world is distracting, but as a pastor and a leader I must look to the author and perfecter of my faith and time itself! No for the second part of the verse in James, please pray for me!
