The following “anecdote” is probably fictional, but it furnishes an all-too-true illustration of our lives. Its lesson is vitally important, and we trust each reader will put its principles to use in their life.
A father, tired and home late from work as usual, was met at the door by his little boy.
“Daddy, can we go to the park and play ball?”
It was not what Dad wanted to hear. “Not tonight,” he said abruptly, trying not to look at his boy’s expectant face. “I’m too tired. Besides, I’ve got to spend my time tonight on work for the office.”
After a short silence his boy quietly asked, “Daddy, how much do you make an hour?”
Too busy to find out what prompted such a question, he replied tersely, “Oh, about $20.”
Again there was a short silence and then a little voice asked, “Daddy, would you loan me $5?”
With growing irritation, he replied, “No, of course not! Why do you need that much money, anyway? You already get an allowance, and I can’t just give you money every time you ask for it!”
The crestfallen boy silently went upstairs to his bedroom. Before long, Dad was feeling very uneasy about his impatient words. Pulling a $5 bill out of his wallet, he went up to his son’s room.
“I’m sorry I talked so rough. Here’s something for you,” he said, handing the bill to his son who was sitting in the middle of his bed. The boy’s face lit up with delight. Taking the $5, he reached under his pillow, pulled out a handful of crumpled bills and added the $5 to the pile of money.
Seeing this, his dad irritably demanded, “If you already had that much money, why did you need to borrow more from me?”
With a happy smile on his face, the little boy held out the crumpled pile of money to his dad, saying, “You loaned me $5. Now I’ve got $20. Can I buy an hour of your time?”
Time Is a Precious Treasure
How difficult it is to learn the lesson of this story! The rapidly increasing demands and responsibilities of twentieth-century life can and do methodically rob us of a very precious possession our free time. Far too often we make no effort to stop this tragic theft.
Of course we must work, fulfilling the responsibilities of daily life and providing “things honest in the sight of all men” (Rom. 12:1717Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. (Romans 12:17)). But any other time we give to the world’s demands must be taken away from something else. Sadly, it often is taken from those areas of our lives that are vital to our happiness as believers personal communion with the Lord, assembling with those of “like precious faith,” private time with our spouses and individual nurturing time with our children.
The World’s Demands
Like Egypt of old, the world today demands that we serve with “rigor.” “And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage.... All their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigor” (Ex. 1:13-1413And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor: 14And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigor. (Exodus 1:13‑14)). Pharaoh was not interested in the welfare of the Hebrew families. He planned to destroy them. But he first took their time and energy to enrich his kingdom. Not a second of the Israelites’ time spent in bitter labor was given to Jehovah or used for the benefit of their families!
Don’t Give in Don’t Give It Away
We must not give in to these demands of the enemy if our personal life of faith, the assembly and our families are to be preserved. All that is really precious in this life is at stake in this battle! We have this word, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:77Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)), to encourage us in the conflict.
Even in the days of our Lord’s pathway here, we read that there were so “many coming and going... they had no leisure so much as to eat” (Mark 6:3131And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. (Mark 6:31)). The Lord Jesus had come with a message of deliverance for His beloved people (Luke 4:1818The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (Luke 4:18)). Surely nothing could be more pressing than the work which His Father gave Him to do (Matt. 20:2828Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28))! Yet, the Lord would not allow even these exigencies to “rob” His beloved disciples of the rest they needed. Thus, in the very midst of such pressing demands, He says to them, “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while.”
The Battle
Beloved fathers (and mothers too!), “quit you like men,” “stand fast” and “be strong.” If you feel an inability to fight such a battle, remember that “He giveth more grace” (James 4:66But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. (James 4:6)) and that you can “do all things through Christ” (Phil. 4:1313I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4:13)). Don’t become complacent, allowing yourself to get accustomed to the subtle, greedy and unnecessary demands that this Christ-rejecting world makes for your precious free time. Remember that the hours that could be spent in nurturing and guiding your family are, if wasted or stolen, irrecoverable.
Priorities
Let us learn from the sad history of King Saul. The priorities of his father Kish were out of order. Consider the time when Saul was looking for the lost asses that belonged to his father. After spending some time without finding the animals, Saul makes this poignant comment to his servant: “Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us.” In light of these solemn words, should we wonder at the disastrous results of Saul’s life? Kish made a choice in his life a choice that each must also make today. Tragically, his choice was to give more time and thought to his asses than to his son.
Oh! that we would never allow the world to steal the priceless free time that should be spent with the Lord, the assembly and our families. The vital service of raising a family for the glory of God requires a firm, resolute stand against a world ever ready to steal every precious minute of our time.
Ed.