People have enemies, and we can say that there is no one who has no enemies. There is always someone who doesn't like us for some reason or other. But let me tell you what is the worst enemy we have. It is time. Yes, time. In society today, the most common phrases we hear are: "Sorry, but I don't have any time," or "There's no time for anything." There are so many things that rob our time that, at the end of the day, we end up saying, "The day is gone, and I didn't get anything done, because I didn't have the time."
Although we may think we don't have time, Solomon tells us the opposite. "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1. There is time for everything; he even writes that there is "a time to keep silence, and a time to speak." Verse 7. So, we should not complain about a lack of time; rather, we should figure out how to organize our time properly.
"And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed." Romans 13:11. We are living in a critical moment in our world's history; the earth is coming to an end, and we see the signs told by our Lord being fulfilled all around us. But we are still sleeping and don't realize the time in which we are living! Our situation is still as described in Revelation--"lukewarm." But the appeal made to us is to wake up, for our salvation is very close. "…The time is at hand." Revelation 1:3. We don't have time to waste, for Jesus is coming very soon. But we tend to be occupied with earthly things, and our minds are more involved with the things of this world than they are with heavenly things.
"You have no time to devote to the theater or the dance hall. You have no time to grumble. It is lost, lost. You have no time to play cards. You have no time to attend horse races. You have no time to attend shows. How is it with my soul?… Have I a living connection with God? If I have, I must seek to win these souls that are attracted with these outward pleasures. Satan has managed it. Satan has devised it that one pleasure should crowd on the heels of another, a feverish excitement. No time to contemplate God, no time to think of heaven or heavenly things, no time to study the Bible, no time to put forth interested efforts for those that are out of Christ." --Reflecting Christ, p. 247.
"Now is the time to lay up treasure in heaven, and to set our hearts in order, ready for the time of trouble. Those only who have clean hands and a pure heart will stand that trying time. Now is the time for the law of God to be in our minds (foreheads), and written in our hearts. The Lord has shown me the danger of letting our minds be filled with worldly thoughts and cares. I saw that some minds were led away from present truth and a love of the holy Bible, by reading other exciting books; and others were filled with perplexity and care for what they shall eat, drink and wear. I saw some, looking too far off for the coming of the Lord. Time has continued on a few years longer than they expected, therefore they think it may continue a few years more, and in this way their minds are being led from present truth, out after the world. In these things I saw great danger; for if the mind is filled with other things, present truth is shut out, and there is no place in our foreheads for the seal of the living God. This seal is the Sabbath. I saw that the time for Jesus to be in the most holy place was nearly finished, and that time can last but a very little longer; and what leisure time we have should be spent in searching the Bible, which is to judge us in the last day." --Broadside 2, January 31, 1849.
"Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3:13. We should be taking advantage of the time we have, because the time we waste is not going to come back. It has passed into eternity. There is no time to waste. "The command is given, Work while the day lasts: the night cometh, when no man can work. Jesus asks, 'Are there not twelve hours in the day.' If these hours were employed as if men realized that they were accountable human beings, responsible before God, as serious, candid, heaven-bought subjects, keeping eternity in view, there would be sufficient time to secure for every soul an inheritance among the sanctified in the kingdom of God. There would be time for each one to be instrumental in the saving of many souls through precept and example. But we have no time to waste, no time to devote to selfish pleasure-loving, no time to give to the indulgence of sin. Time is golden. We have characters to form for the future, immortal life. Angels of God are watching our development of character; they are weighing moral worth." --Review and Herald, January 11, 1898.
"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:16. We have to overcome this enemy! Let's be careful with our time. It is one of the greatest gifts the Lord has given us; and when He comes back, we will need to give an account for everything we've done, as well as of the things we have spent our time on. "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment." Ecclesiastes 11:9.
Let us consider these words and ask God to help us spend our time wisely!
--Gabriel Porras, Colombia
