Pentecost 3
“Don’t Waste God’s Time”
Psalm 127
1
Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the
watchmen stand guard in vain. 2 In vain
you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat – for he grants sleep
to those he loves.
3
Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. 4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are
sons born in one’s youth. 5 Blessed is
the man whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies at
the gate.
Don’t you hate wasting
time? When the phone rings and a
telemarketer talks to you on and on without taking a breath, that is
annoying. He just wasted your time. When your toilet isn’t working and after an
hour of your best efforts the problem seems to be worse and not better, that is
irritating. You just wasted your
time. When I-10 becomes a parking lot,
that is frustrating. You are wasting
time. We are Americans and we are used
to tight schedules, activity-filled personal calendars and lots of things going
on. There is too much to do - we cannot
afford to waste time.
In the Scripture for today,
the LORD has something to tell us about wasting time through a Psalm written by
King Solomon. Do you know who King
Solomon was? Here was a man who knew
something about not wasting time. Here
was a man who got things done. He had a
life full of building projects and activity.
He built the
You would think that Solomon
would have been proud of what he had accomplished with his two hands and his
mind. You would think Solomon would have
boasted, “I never wasted my time, lived a full life and got a lot of things
done.” But what did he say? Listen to what he says in Psalm 127 – I think
it will surprise you. Listen as I read
Psalm 127. (read text)
What God considers a waste of time...
God re-defines for us what
wasting time is. If the LORD is not
watching over the city, the guards are watching in vain. They are wasting their time. If the LORD does not build the house, the
builders build in vain. They waste their
time.
Allow me to explain the word
“house.” It is a general word. It could describe the kind of house in which you
live. It could describe the kind of
house in which you worship. It could
describe the house you build in the sense of family. But there is more. The term “house” here could also be broad
enough to describe any undertaking, project or endeavor in any line of
work. Thus, the verse reads, “If the
LORD is not building your project or endeavor, you are wasting your time.”
Think of how far-reaching
that verse is. Think of all the projects
and endeavors we undertake with our lives and occupations. Builders build. Guards guard.
Farmers farm. Accountants count. Engineers engineer. Parents parent. Stay-home moms stay home with their
kids. Teachers teach. And if any of those people are doing any of
those things without the LORD at the center, they are absolutely wasting your
time. It doesn’t matter if you make an
eye-popping amount of money. It doesn’t
matter how high you are promoted. It
doesn’t matter how many things you can get done on your to-do list. If the LORD isn’t in the center, you are
wasting your time. The verse “Unless the
LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain” is very similar to
Colossians 3:17, “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the
name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” If you don’t, you are doing things in
vain. You are wasting the time God has
given you.
Does God’s definition of “a
waste of time” surprise you? God’s
definition of wasting time is very different from the way we define wasting
time, isn’t it? He doesn’t mention anything
about an interruption to your daily routine that wastes your time. He doesn’t say, “If you planned in your
calendar to be busy but you are forced to sit down, that is a waste of
time.” In God’s eyes, the only thing
that is a waste of time is working on any project without God being number one,
in the center.
I’m afraid that there are far
too many times where we are wasting our time.
Think of all the things that take center stage in our lives besides our
Lord. We run after things and we chase
from here to there…and when running and chasing is the center and not God, it
is all a big waste of time. We can
become career-centered, earn promotions and honor, but if God is not in the
center, it is all in vain no matter how many accolades you get. We can live a worry-centered life, but that
too is done in vain. And I haven’t even
mentioned being money-centered yet!
You’ve heard the phrase “time is money.”
Well, “time is money” is wasted time when God is not in the center.
Anything that takes over the
center of our hearts is a waste of time and a sin against God. But Jesus is so patient. He holds the cross before our guilt and
forgives us for wasting time. He
forgives us for worrying in vain, for chasing around in vain, for being
career-centered in vain. He erases every
speck of sin and selfishness from our records, even all those times we get so
personal and let something take the place of him. He brings complete forgiveness.
And he renews us to want to
use our time wisely.
2.
What is not a waste of time
So how do we use our time
wisely? What is it that is not a waste
of time? It is not a waste of time to
say, “The LORD is building my house. The
LORD is completing my project. The LORD
is watching over this endeavor. He knows
when I sit and when I rise; he knows when I come and when I go.” Here are some practical examples of keeping
the LORD in the center of your life.
Keep him in the center as you run and chase from here to there and trust
that the LORD is guarding you as you run and chase. That’s not a waste of time. Keep the LORD in the center as you do your
best in your career, trusting that the LORD will give you the right
opportunities and bonuses at just the right time – not a moment too soon and
not a moment too late. And when your
bosses praise you, give the LORD credit for giving you your hands, heart and
work ethic. That’s not a waste of time. When challenges arise, be concerned for a
loved one and pray for them fervently without spilling over into worry. That’s not a waste of time. In short, you could put it this way: without
the LORD, any undertaking is a waste of time; but with the LORD as the center,
nothing is ever a waste of time. It’s not
even a waste of time when an unplanned surprise turns your day upside down.
Here is an example of how
that can be true. This last Thursday,
Justin Witt and I were riding the Metro bus downtown for the Downtown lunchtime
Bible study. On the way, the bus was
stopped for over an hour by an eight-car pileup on I-10. There was nothing we could do except sit
there. By the time we got past the
accident, the bus was not going to stop until we got downtown, and by the time
we got downtown, the Bible study was already over. We ended up staying on the same bus and
riding all the way back. A 45-minute bus
ride turned into a three-hour bus ride.
A waste of time? Hardly.
Justin and I were able to talk quite a bit about the pastoral
ministry. When else could we have found
time to do that? We had the chance to
pray for the people in the accident as we drove past. We would not have done that had we not been
in the bus. And on top of all that, I
was able to turn a three-hour “waste of time” into an accurate and applicable
sermon illustration. When the LORD is
the center of your day, it is impossible to waste your time. No matter where you are. No matter what comes up.
Something else that is not a
waste of time is found in verses 3-5. (read v.3-5) Children and grandchildren are a
wonderful reward from our heavenly Father.
“Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them” says
Solomon. And it is not a waste of time
to keep your little ones close to Jesus and build a godly home. It is not a waste of time to read your
children Bible stories after dinner. It
is not a waste of time to say prayers with them before they close their sweet
little eyes at night. It is not a waste
of time to bring them to Sunday School. It
is not a waste of time to teach them songs like “Jesus Loves Me.” All of you parents who brought your children
to VBS last week? You did not waste your
time at all. You teachers and craft
leaders who put in extra time to teach these children about their Savior? You did not waste your time either. When the LORD is at the center of what we are
doing, it is not a waste of time.
The rewards from being godly
parents are so high. They simply cannot
be measured. Do you hate wasting
time? Do you hate doing things in
vain? I hope that you answer by saying,
“Yes, I hate doing anything in which God slips away from the center.” Don’t waste time anymore. Use all of your time and all of your gifts
for the glory of Jesus. Amen.