I told myself that I was going to sit down and my writing station and write a blog post before I would allow myself to partake in one of the gourmet creations that I had planned for dinner: Nuked frozen burritos pipping hot from the microwave. (Don’t get jealous, with time and patience, you too will be able to come up with the same type of mouthwatering fare.)

But then, I got to thinking about time.

Time is something we all have. It is something we either use or waste. We use the time to either better our lives or spend it wondering what we did all day long with nothing to show for our efforts or lack thereof.

Right now, there may be some of you out there thinking to yourself “Right now, I’m wasting my time reading this and wondering when, if ever, is he going to get to the point.” Point is that I’m working on it and that is a proper use of time.

See, we all are given a certain amount of time. Some have more, some have less. I’ve seen those who have lived to be 80, 90 even 100 years old and still had useful and productive lives. Yet at the same time I’ve seen children who come into this world with some sort of physical ailment, and despite the best efforts of the medical community and prayers from everyone involved, only seem to be with us for months, if not days or even hours.

The amount of time given to us is not a certainty. Nobody knows exactly how much time they have. So, my question is this: What’s the best way of spending what you have left? Never mind the past, there is nothing you can do about it. You can’t go back and relive your childhood or your young adult life, it’s gone. Despite what you’ve read in any science fiction novel or seen on Star Trek  (in any of the TV shows and movies), you can’t go back in time. You can regret your decision that you’ve made in the past, yes, but you can’t go back and fix your mistakes.

All you can do is work on your future.

You can take the time to better your careers, but think about this: “What will be the lasting difference you will make in your career that will still be around after you’ve either retired or died?” Now, I’m not saying trying to succeed or become better at your job is a bad thing. Not at all. In fact, we owe it to our employers and our customers to become the best at what we do.

The problem is that some people spend ALL OF THEIR TIME on their careers that they neglect the important things of life: Friends, Family, and God. Because it is the culmination of those three things that make life worth living. In my past business life, I’ve talked to men and women who’ve spent countless hours at their jobs. Trying to work their way up to that “Corner Office” a “Seat on the Board” a “Six-Figure Income” and I’ve seen these same people achieve all of their work-related goals and more but it cost them their health, family, friends and even their relationship to God.

What good is it to achieve in life when you have no one to enjoy it with?

Real valuable use of time can be found in the relationships we develop. Our time that we spend with our loved ones. It’s seeing the smile on their faces when you walk in the door and them knowing that you are all theirs and “off the clock.” It’s when you spend time with your Heavenly Father learning about him through His Word and talking with Him about your day in the quietness of your alone time.

Yes, there is a time for work. But there is also a time for friends, family and which make up the major portion of who we are. Don’t be a one-sided person who wastes their time, the little you have left, on things that really aren’t going to make a difference.

We have time to get right with our friends, our family members and with our God. It is important to have a healthy balance. A balance of Work, Friends, Family and our relationship with God.

And ultimately, it is our relationship with God that is the most important. Because you could have a great work balance, a fantastic balance with your family and friends, but if neglect your relationship to God, then you’ve really wasted your time.

Mark 8:36 says “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”

Because if you don’t get your relationship right with God, then one day, and it’s coming, trust me, you will stand before him and he will ask you what you did with your life. If you don’t have the right answer, then you’ve just wasted your time here on earth and you will pay the price for that wasted time.

If anybody reading this would like to discuss more on how you can improve your relationship to God, you can hit the Contact tab at the top of this page or you can email me at TheGaryNickels@Outlook.com and I will be happy to talk with you.

So, now if you will excuse me, the microwave has just gone off and my gourmet burritos await.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled life…already in progress.