Mastering Time

Last weekend was quite interesting. I had a professional training to attend on Saturday. Then on Sunday, I was to teach the youth sermon in church for the first time.

I had set out to do laundry as usual on Saturday but I had to abandon it halfway to get to the training venue on time.
On our way, the cab driver collided with a private car owner and damaged his car in the process. Whoops! Everyone was disoriented.
The two drivers engaged in a serious showdown. I tried to pacify the aggrieved car owner but of course, he wouldn’t listen.

He wanted compensation. When I realized they were no closer to an amicable resolution, I had to hop on the next available bus. I got to the venue about thirty minutes after the scheduled time.
It appeared they had started at 10am on the dot. I was lost. I tried to pick up the thread from the man beside me. It helped a little but I still wished I was there from the beginning.

The training was of vital importance to my career and I had been looking forward to it for a long time. Anyways, I had to move on to absorb and participate in the rest of the training. 

With Saturday’s experience in mind, I made sure I left home early on Sunday to prevent any unforeseen occurrence. Although my church is about 10 minutes bike ride from my house, I didn’t want to take any chances.

Getting tasks done on time and arriving at meetings and events early should be the attitude of Christians. One of the keys to achieving this is to give allowance for unforeseeable occurrences, which may slow down our expected results and projected timeframe.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us that, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” There is a given time frame allotted to every activity. Misusing and wasting time either by idling around or not committing whole-heartedly to tasks only robs us and others of precious time.

Punctual people are diligent people. They are wise time managers. With this, they are able to plan their time ahead and beat almost every obstacle.
“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” – Ephesians 5:16-17

Although we keep growing and improving daily, punctual and timely people usually receive an extra dose of respect and rewards. Respect for time is an indicator of how you respect yourself and others.

For the rest of this year, choose punctuality over excuses. Choose to be proactive about your schedules and tasks rather than allow unexpected events to control you.

As I try to be a better manager of my time, I hope you join me on this journey. How about we start by getting to church early this Sunday?

Here is to a punctual and profitable 2021.