Disposable Time: Today's Hot Commodity!

    I remember the good ole days when disposable income was something that most of us longed for.  The ability to have the money to do what we wanted to.  Oh, to travel to far, exotic places.  To buy a truck to replace the old beater that had far outlived its usefulness.  To get the new outfit that we saw in the department store window.  Those were the days!  When everything seemed to be slower.  Where a good conversation was as sweet as any dessert and where sundown brought a reprieve from the work of the day! Man, am I waxing nostalgic!
     The reality, to most, is that those days are long gone!  The hot commodity of the day is no longer disposable income, but disposable time!  With global transportation, government subsidized credit offers, and the presence of faster, easier technology we have entered to time of speed and constant change.  Good conversation are not spoken but texted and sundown is not a reprieve but an invitation to start the second part of our day!  We are able to do far more with far less time and, thus, invited to fill up every ounce of our time with the "stuff" of life!
     Some of you who are reading this have no problem with the last paragraph I just shared, but many of you are probably waxing nostalgic just like me.  You long for the slower pace of life where your options never outweighed your time and where you could have just as much fun laughing with your friends underneath the tree in your front yard then playing X-Box against some unknown player a half a world away! Can this ever happen again?  Is it possible to live in a slower society where we can claim our lives back from the hectic pace this world is constantly trying to spoon feed us?
     I believe the answer is "Yes!"  But before I get to that I need to say a few more things.  First, do I believe that it is possible to reclaim the slowness of the "Walton's" type of lifestyle?  No - not really!  I guess you can move to a very small community or to another sparsely populated country (something I find myself longing to do periodically!), but with technology and the speed this world is changing it is pretty close to impossible to get back to those times.  Second, I don't dislike technology.  I am using it even as you read this.  I have a laptop, an iPad, an iPod, a Wii, and a TV with HD.  I do put my foot down on a smartphone, though.  I have a basic flip phone and that is good enough for me!
      With this in mind, I do believe we can regain the commodity of time back into our lives!  The reason I believe thisis because I do not believe technology or the pace of our culture forces us to live unbalanced, fast-paced lifestyles - I believe it is our inability to say, "No" to the myriad of opportunities that surround us. It is our inability to choose what is important and our ability to hold true to those choices.
      I believe there are a number of ways we can reclaim disposable time back into our lives:

1. Take stock.  Many of us go through life making decision after decision without ever asking if the decision is the right one to be made.  When you want to get control of your money what is the first thing experts tell you to do?  They tell you that for the next 30 days keep a journal of how you spend your money. Then, at the end of the month, categorize your expenses - mortgage and housing, food, debt, entertainment, etc.  I believe we should do the same thing with our time.  If you are feeling stressed and over-committed take some time (yes, you may need to make time) and take stock in what you are doing.  Then after you do this categorize it - family, work, children, spouse, church, God, leisure, etc.  Hopefully this will give you an overall picture of what you have said "Yes" to in your life - good or bad!
2. Scrutinize your schedule.  This is where complete honesty comes into play.  You need to stop rationalizing your decisions and be very blunt about what you are deciding to do and not do.  There are categories that I have found in my life that help me in this exercise:
• "Should Not Do's".  There are things you do that you know beyond a shadow of doubt you should not be doing.  They are not good for you to do, not good for your family, and not good for the kingdom of God.
• "Don't Need to Do's".  These are things that I do because I like doing them but are not necessary for me to do to fulfill what God has put me on this earth to accomplish.  This is the hardest one to come to grips with because, many times, we like doing them.  But you can really identify these when they start affecting the really important areas of your life.
• "I Need to Do's".  These are things that you may not like to do but line up with where you are at in the stage God has put you in your life so you need to do them.
• "I Have to Do's".  These are non-negotiable's.  A perfect example is work.  Hopefully you love your job as much as I do but there are days where you go to work because you have to not because you want to.  I also pray that if you believe in Jesus you have things like church, daily scripture and prayer, etc. as have to's as well.
3. Be strategic with your schedule.  This is like setting a budget.  When you set a budget you allocate certain funds toward certain categories.  Once those monies have been spent in those areas you don't spend any more.  There is also room in budget where you set aside money to save for particular things - vacation, new car, etc.  All this to say you should budget your schedule.  You only have 24 hours in a day and we should budget our schedule accordingly.  A big majority of your schedule is for work.  Then you will need to budget some for family, spouse, children, solitude, fun, etc.  Make sure you do this diligently and stick to it.

     I want to conclude with two more thoughts.  When you are creating a schedule make sure it lines up with the Bible and what God says should be a part of your schedule.  Scripture talks about work and family as well as time for enjoyment and rest.  So make sure you are being obedient to what God desires of you.  It is important to understand that there is nothing Godly about being too busy and over-committed.  As a matter of fact, they fly contrary to what God's word says!

     Lastly, I believe our society needs to learn to say "No!"  Some of us look at this word as being evil or selfish.  On the contrary.  When you say "No" strategically in your life it is the most freeing word that you will ever say!  If you want to get back disposable time you need to learn how to say "No".  It will be uncomfortable at first and some people may not understand, but endure.  God will bless you for it!

     My wife and I are raising 6 children!  Is it insane at times?  You better believe it!  But we have found the blessings of disposable income in our lives as we spend time together as a family and with our church!  My prayer is that you will experience these same blessings in your life as well!