“Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and the Messiah will shine on you. Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Ephesians 5:14-17

Time is a precious commodity. So valuable is time that throughout history man has been obsessed with inventing better and better time-saving tools. No wonder hi-tech is the fastest growing industry today.

When you appreciate the true value of time you need to be thrifty in the ways you spend it. Paul tells us to “make the most of every opportunity” (Ephesians 5:16). Does that mean we should say ‘yes’ to every opportunity that comes along? Hardly. Paul says in the very next verse: “understand what the Lord’s will is.” The key to spending time wisely is time management — that is, learning to manage our time according to the Lord’s set of priorities for our lives.

Just because you’re busy doesn’t mean you’re productive. Productivity has more to do with working smart than working hard. Working smart means knowing exactly which opportunities are from the Lord and which are not — knowing which opportunities we should say ‘yes’ to, and which to say ‘no’ to.

God is not impressed with our busyness. He’s interested in our faithfulness — to do no less and do no more than those exact things He’s asked us to do.

But Paul not only addresses busy people who need to prioritize more but also those who have another problem — laziness. In their case, it’s not so much a problem of knowing God’s will, it’s a problem of get up and go. In Ephesians 5:14 Paul says, “Wake up O sleeper, rise from the dead.” The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up! Too many of us are daydreamers — always thinking about the great things we will accomplish one day, but never get round to doing them. The preacher, George Truett once said, “To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge, to find the will of God is the greatest discovery, and to do the will of God is the greatest achievement.”

Because time is a precious commodity, let’s not waste even a drop. That means we should be better time managers, learning to set our priorities according to His priorities. And it means we need to be doers, not just hearers. Knowing that the Messiah will soon return, let’s not be caught either busily doing someone else’s work, or worse yet, sleeping on the job.