Consecration and Time Stewardship
Time is not merely a succession of hours to be spent as one pleases. It is a trust received from God, and each day comes with occasions for worship, work, rest, love, repentance, and mercy. The consecrated life is not a frantic attempt to fill every moment, but a faithful ordering of time beneath the Lordship of Christ.
Our Days Must Be Numbered with Wisdom
Psalm 90:12 (KJV): “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
To number our days is not to calculate the date of death, which God has wisely hidden. It is to remember the brevity and weight of life, so that the heart may be turned from wastefulness toward wisdom. The believer who remembers that time is short is not driven to despair, but to gratitude and holy purpose.
A modern Nazarite therefore asks not only how much time is available, but what love, duty, and worship require of it. Read Gill on Psalm 90:12.
Opportunity Is to Be Redeemed
Ephesians 5:15-16 (KJV): “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Redeeming - exagorazomenoi (ἐξαγοραζόμενοι) bears the sense of buying up an opportunity. Time is precious because it cannot be recalled when lost. Yet redeeming it does not mean making an idol of productivity. Rest, worship, sleep, family, and quiet reflection are also gifts to be received wisely, for they preserve strength for obedience.
Holy stewardship may take the form of a simple rule: first attend to the Lord, then to the duty before you; refuse what scatters the mind; and reserve room for the neighbour whom love requires you to see. Read Gill on Ephesians 5:15-16.
Time Finds Its Best Use in Love
Colossians 4:5 (KJV): “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.”
Walk - peripateite (περιπατεῖτε) speaks of the course of daily life. Wisdom is not confined to private devotion; it appears in the way we meet others, perform work, keep promises, and use opportunity for good. A consecrated schedule must leave room for mercy, because the time given to love is never lost before God.
Thus time stewardship is not self-management alone. It is a form of neighbour-love, making one more ready to encourage, serve, forgive, and speak truth when the occasion is given. Read Gill on Colossians 4:5.
The modern Nazarite does not offer God the fragments left after every lesser claim. He offers the day itself, with its hours, limits, work, rest, and opportunities, trusting that God gives wisdom for the portion set before him.
Prayer: Lord, teach me to number my days. Deliver me from wasteful haste and idle delay, and grant me wisdom to receive each hour as a trust for Thy glory and the good of my neighbour; through Jesus Christ. Amen.
