Time is the great equalizer. We may all have different abilities, resources, and opportunities, but we all have the same amount of time each day: 24 hours, 1,440 minutes, 86,400 seconds. We may think of less busy people as having more time on their hands, but it is ultimately just an illusion. We all have been given the same amount of time each day, the difference is in how we choose to use it.
To describe our use of time we often speak in monetary terms. When using time productively, we say we are “spending” or “investing” time. When using time unproductively, we say we are “wasting” time. When we eliminate less productive uses of our time in favor of activities that are more fruitful, we say we are “saving” time.
This last concept is closely related with what the Bible calls “redeeming” time (Eph 5:16; Col 4:5). The word “redeem” very simply means “to buy back” and it always involves an exchange from a state of lesser to greater value. You might redeem a coupon for its cash value. You might pay to redeem your jewelry back from a pawn shop. In a spiritual sense, Christ redeemed us from the bondage of sin to the hope of eternal life. So, what does it mean to “redeem” the time? What are we buying it back from? What are we investing it towards instead?
The scriptures here are not urging us to simply “save” or “redeem” time for activities that are of more earthly profit, but areas of greater spiritual value. We are to redeem the time “because the days are evil” (Eph 5:16). We are called to exchange the time we have been spending on fleshly and worldly pursuits, to invest it in activities of greater spiritual profit. And this process needs to be pursued with great care and wisdom (Eph 5:15).
Certainly, this will involve eliminating sinful activities from my schedule, but that is just scratching the surface. I must continue day by day to refine how I use my time to bring more glory to God. I must seek to organize my schedule in a way that will help me accomplish the greatest good that I can in His service. I must surrender 24 hours, 1,440 minutes, and 86,400 seconds a day to living the way God would want me to. Are you redeeming the time?