The Character of Punctuality - 2/2

 continued from here

Many people consider Punctuality not worth the effort of study and practice. We live in a time when we are slaves to the urgency of schedules and appointments, where our meetings and outings dictate our use of time, and even our relationships. We over-commit and over-schedule, and do not give it a second glance. Yet, time is important, and our management of time will give others a glimpse of our priorities and character.

Remember, God considers punctuality important. Just look up, “at the appointed time,” in a concordance and see how many passages you find where God is concerned with our being on time. We may not see being timely as important, but God does! We are on this earth for such a short amount of time—compared with eternity—and we need to make the most of our time and opportunities. When we are careless with time, we hold others up, and miss valuable opportunities. Our time is a treasure that is given to us, and we are responsible to dish it out, fairly, in a clear and concise way—to the best of our ability, and accordingly to the situation.
Suppose you could live your complete lifetime in one day. You are born at 7:00 a.m. and go to bed and die at 11:00 p.m. You have a total of 16 hours and a lifespan equivalent of 80 years. At 10:00 a.m. in the morning, you will be 15; at 12:00 noon, you would be well into your 20s, and at 3:00 p.m. you would be 40, and half way though your life. When the clock turns 6:00 p.m. you would be 55, and at 8:00 p.m. you would be 65. So, you get the picture. The question is, what are you doing for your day? Do you see how and why time is so important, and something that we should not waste? Yes, we need entertainment, leisure, and to have fun. This character goes hand in hand with being flexible. Actually, we can be a pain to others when we are stingy with our time, and overbearing when we disregard it!

Good character is also realizing others will not always have good character, or at the least, good etiquette. Therefore, when others do hold us up, our response is in the realm of the other characters, all synergistically working together. We can arrange our plans around others without being hurt or disappointed. Our purpose is to model Christ-likeness, not to appease our whims, desires, or agenda, or be bruised when others infringe upon us or cause us distress. As the Scriptures indicate, our punctuality is based on who we are in Christ, and nothing else.

Still think time is not important? Consider this.

The more time you invest with God through the spiritual disciplines, the more you will grow in faith, maturity, and character. The more time you spend with family, the closer you will develop your relationship, and the fewer problems you will have as a parent. When time is misplaced by overloaded schedules or fears, we become absent from life’s precious moments and opportunities, and, as a result, our effectiveness and character will also be absent!