We’ve all heard the statement time is short. Or time is short, make the most of it. Actually, time is short when you waste a lot of it. Roman philosopher Seneca said it well – “Life is long if you know how to use it. It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it. Life is long enough, and it has been given in sufficiently generous measure to allow the accomplishment of the very greatest things if the whole of it is well invested. But when it is squandered in luxury and carelessness, when it is devoted to no good end, forced at last by the ultimate necessity we perceive that it has passed away before we were aware that it was passing. So, it is – the life we receive is not short, but we make it so, nor do we have any lack of it, but are wasteful of it.”

And then there’s this quote by Warren Buffett that speaks volumes to me, not about getting rich, but on the value of time. He said “I can buy anything I want basically but I can’t buy time. I better be careful with it”.

To me the word associated with time and time management that causes me to wince and cringe the most is the word squander.

The word squander means wastefully, to scatter, such as a wasteful expenditure. We often do that with money and other resources and that’s bad enough. But squandering time is the worst. To misuse and waste time is a travesty.

How are you using your time? Perhaps it’s time to do a time audit. Are you spending an inordinate amount of time at work pursuing money and advancing your career and not nearly enough investing time in your relationships with your spouse, children, family, and friends? Do you spend hours a day on the internet, mindlessly scrolling through social media feeds while spending little to no time in prayer, meditation, or reading God’s Word, cultivating your relationship with the Lord? Do you spend hours upon hours playing video games, watching sports and engaging in other forms of entertainment but not getting enough exercise or rest and sleep to care for your physical well-being?

Ephesians 5:15-16 says, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” The word walk in this verse refers to your life and how you live it. I particularly like the Amplified Bible which reads “Making the most of your time on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence, because the days are filled with evil.

Time is indeed short when it’s squandered, don’t waste any of it. Instead redeem it.

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