“Anytime you think you have more of something than you need, you tend to waste it.”

A thought by Chris Hodge from his book, The Daniel Dilemma: How to Stand Firm and Love Well in a Culture of Compromise (Kindle Locations 2832). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Here is another important thought that is good to come to grip with at the beginning of 2018.

Chris says, “When we realize that our days are numbered, then we realize the need to make them count. Only following God and living for him provides the kind of deep significance we crave and were created to enjoy.”

He goes on, “If we lived with the truth that we have a finite amount of time, a limited number of days, then we would make better decisions. Anytime you think you have more of something than you need, you tend to waste it. It’s just the logic of human nature. If you have plenty of food in your pantry, cupboard, and fridge, it’s hard to imagine being hungry. If there’s lots of money in your bank account, then you feel like you’ll always have enough. But when you’re down to your last box of crackers or last dollar, suddenly these things become precious. You no longer take them for granted. When we recognize our limitations, we tend to make the most of our lives.”

We think we have a lot of time left, don’t we? And we waste so much of our time. But what would we do if we knew how much time we really did have? What would we do?

Chris gave some thought to this and he said, “The solution is simple but an ongoing battle: you must say no! When you’re tempted to hold a grudge against a loved one or feel sorry for yourself, then you must think, No! Ain’t nobody got time for that. With the days I have left, I’m going to live my life for God, for what matters the most to me. The psalmist said, ‘Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should’ (Ps. 90:12 TLB).”

So, what is it that really matters to you?

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