Being recently retired, I began to think about how I spend my time? How much time do I spend in God’s Kingdom? As I began to ponder that question, another interesting thought came to me. There are two kingdoms I spend time in: God’s Kingdom (the Kingdom of Heaven), and Satan’s kingdom (the kingdom of this world). So, the question really is, “How much time do I spend in each kingdom?”
The main difference in defining where we spend time is who are we attempting to please, God or self? In Luke 9:23 Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” I do not believe anyone reading this would say they are attempting to please Satan, so we won’t address that possibility.
To answer the question, I needed to know how to determine the time spent in each kingdom. Years ago, I was told of an interesting way to think of time. Look at every hour of the day as a gold coin given to me by God. I have 24 gold coins to spend each day. I can spend them anyway I want, but I can only spend them once. Once spent, they are gone forever. The only thing left from the gold coin is the effect and the consequences on me and on others, positive, neutral, or negative. Fruitful or wasted.
How do categories fit into the two kingdoms? How do I know in which kingdom I am operating? It goes back to who I am trying to please. Does what I do please God? Would I be comfortable if He were always with me? Because, as a Christian, He is.
Scripture says when we become a follower of Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in our heart. Have you ever thought of what that means? Jesus told His disciples in John 16:13, “When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth.” He is our guide in all we do, if we let Him guide us. However, guiding or not He is always with us.
If we use the analogy Paul used in 2 Corinthians 5:1, our body is a “tent” to house the real us, our spirit. If we recognize we are really a spirit being that is in this “tent” for a short time and will be released from our body (our tent) when we die, we can then better understand the relationship we have with the Holy Spirit. He is dwelling, or taking up residence, in our “tent” with us while we are here on earth. Jesus told His disciples, “He will guide you into all the truth.”
The problem I see is this. We have invited Someone with much greater knowledge and understanding of God’s principles to live with us (the Holy Spirit), but then we either ignore Him or participate in things (sin) He will not take part in.
Imagine the Holy Spirit sitting with me in my “tent” while I go about my daily activities. How much of the time am I completely ignoring Him, sitting with my back turned to Him, not seeking His wisdom? How much of the time am I participating in activities or thoughts that I would not be comfortable asking Him to participate in? Compare that time to the time I am talking to Him directly and seeking to understand life situations through His perspective.
For me, a good example is the music I listen to. I love music. I love harmony. I have often said music is a language of its own. Music can bring emotions out of me that normal language cannot. So, what should I listen to in my “tent”?
I have always loved the music of The Eagles. They not only had great voice harmony, but they had amazing four-part guitar harmony. I even wrote a blog on their hit song Hotel California that tells the story of temptation’s seductive trap. However, there are groups singing lyrics that are more in tune with scriptural thought, like Who Am I by Casting Crowns, Shout to the Lord and The Shadow of Your Wing sung by Darlene Zschech. The question I need to ask myself is which songs would my “tent mate” like to listen too? Which kingdom will the lyrics pull me toward?
Movies are another favorite way for me to relax. I have always been a Star Trek and Star Wars fan. They are the classic battle of good versus evil. However, lately I have been watching movies on Prime that are rated 7+. They are good movies about people with good morals. Would my “tent-mate” like them better?
The same test can be used in all areas of my life; what do I read, how do I use the internet, how do I spend money, how do I relate to others in my world. The list is as long as all the activities in my life. Am I comfortable knowing that my “tent mate” is walking beside me?
What time blocks do I typically have in a day?
9 hours of sleep
1 hour of grooming
2 hours eating
8 hours working at a job or at home
4 hours free time
24 hours (gold coins)
(These times may vary for you, but the categories are pretty standard.)
Sleep- Do I get restful sleep or are the “things of this world” disturbing it? What things do I thinking about when going to bed? Do I end the day talking to the Lord about the problems in my life or am I trying to solve them myself?
Grooming/ Dress- Am I attempting to please God or drawing attention to myself? Is my style modest and appropriate? Would I present myself to our Lord in my normal style?
Eating- Do I have healthy eating habits, or do I eat for pleasure? Do I recognize I am building God’s temple? Is it well maintained?
Working- Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters”. Are we “working for the Lord” no matter the circumstances? Am I giving my best to my employer to honor the Lord or am I trying to do just enough to get by?
Free Time- My greatest opportunity to decide which kingdom I want to spend time in is my free time. Does my time further God’s Kingdom or do I spend it on myself doing whatever I want, or do I waste my gold coins on trivial things?
What I think about is what I become. The mind is the spiritual battlefield. I choose in every moment what type of person I want to be.
Paul wrote in Romans 12:1-2…
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.”
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul gave even clearer differences in the kingdoms.
Galatians 5:13-26…
“13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passion and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking, and envying each other.”
What does this mean in our day-to-day lives? We are doing Kingdom work when we are seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance while doing what God has called us to do in our current responsibilities. That is Kingdom work, if we are led by the Spirit and His fruit is evident (verses 22 and 23 above). Parenting, teaching, working in a factory, working in an office, family time together, time with friends, and many other ways we spend our “gold coins” can be Kingdom work, if Spirit led.
If I take a few minutes at the end of my day and think about how I spent my “gold coins”, I can use what I did as a barometer to improve my Kingdom focus. I can write down how many hours were spent pleasing God and how many were spent pleasing myself. Then let the Holy Spirit be the guide on how much time was spent in the Kingdom. Over time, He will show me His way.
Christian Life Coach 