What to do with Your Time In Quarantine (1 of 3)
I think we would all describe the social isolation response to the coronavirus pandemic as a slight change of schedule. Depending on how long this goes on, what are you going to do with your time in quarantine?
I'm typically very busy. But I suddenly went from needing more time to needing to know what to do with my time. How about you?
Ephesians 5:15-17 says something important about time. The Bible calls us to make the best use of our time.
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Ephesians 5:15-17
Another translation of "make the best use of time" is to redeem the time. Redeem means to add value to your time. So how do we make our time in quarantine a valuable time?
Use It or Lose It
We are always spending time. You can save money, but despite the saying, you really can't save time. Once it's gone, you don't get it back.
To make sure that we use it and don't lose it, the Bible says that we should "look carefully how we walk" and it implores us to be wise, not unwise.
The word careful refers to precision. It means that you are accurate. "Careful" means that you make a plan for your time.
Wisdom is the ability to see the consequences of a decision. Wisdom sees outcomes. People who are wise set goals.
It would be unwise just to spend our time wondering when this is going to be over.
Wisdom means that we should set a goal for our time in quarantine, and "careful" means that we should make a plan to accomplish the goal.
If you do this week, what you did last week, where will you be in 2-3 weeks, or however long this lasts?
To make your time in quarantine valuable, set some goals. I would suggest that you have a 1) personal goal, 2) family goal and, 3) spiritual goal.
Once you have a goal, "careful" asks, what's the plan? Each day you should set a schedule that reflects your goals.
If we don't use the time, we lose the time. And that's evil (v. 16).
Have you ever looked back on a time in your life and wished you could get it back? Of course you have. We all have.
Let's not look back on our time in quarantine as lost time, but as time well spent.
Bible Study
Read Ephesians 5:15-17.
- List the commands to be obeyed.
- What does this passage teach you about time?
- What are the principles we should apply?
Challenge
Set a personal goal, family goal, and a spiritual goal for your use of time during the coronavirus outbreak. Maybe you are working more than ever before, or maybe you are not working at all. Either way, what are you going to do with your time to make it valuable? Make a plan/schedule that has the goal in mind.
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