Do you consider yourself to be selfish? Maybe you’re generous to a fault. Is it possible? I have a friend who often uses the term “appropriately-selfish.” Do you think there is ever a time to be selfish? What about time itself–do you give it all away on a first-come-first-serve basis, until you drag your weary body to bed–only to get up and do it all over again? 

Time is one area where God gives us all exactly the same thing–twenty-four hours broken into sixty-second intervals, allotted to our time clock each day. We can not add to it or borrow from it and we must use it all. J. Hampton Keathley, III wrote: “In this rat race of always being on the go, we are failing to grasp who we are, why we are here, and where we are really going. It’s as though the going itself, the movement at a fast pace is its own reward regardless of where it takes us.” 

Is your schedule so full today that if God doesn’t have an appointment you won’t have time for Him? What is the driving force behind your running? It could be greed, or fear of not having enough, a way to escape other things, people-pleasing. Are you a people pleaser–someone who can’t say “no” to anyone? I used to be. People will command your every waking moment if you allow it. They will wear you out leaving you no time to care for yourself.

Jesus says, “Come to me, all of you who are struggling and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Without rest, your human body will fail you. If you have worn your body out working to please man, what have you gained? God has a plan to meet every need of every person who comes to Him but He probably doesn’t need you for all of it. “Use your time well, for these are evil days. So don’t be foolish, but try to understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:16-17) Be appropriately-selfish today.