STEWARDSHIP OF TIME, TALENTS, AND RESOURCES

YOU’VE GOT 24 HOURS TO SPEND $86,400. HOW ARE YOU SPENDING IT?

Imagine you woke up to a credit alert of $86,400 from an unnamed person with the message: “Use it as you like. From someone who cares about you.”

What would be your response? For some, it could be: “Pay my tithe first, then take care of my needs, save, invest, and only spend what’s left.” 

Another person’s response could be: “Satisfy my cravings first, then pursue long-term goals later.”

Whatever your response, do you realise this is your reality every time you wake up in the morning? You are given a blank cheque worth 86,400 seconds, the total time in a day. God has done a beautiful thing: everyone on earth receives an equal number of seconds, but what each person does with them determines the outcome of their life.

Before you go on, take a pause and ask yourself:

There is a common saying: “Time is life because everything we do occurs within its limits.” From the moment the alarm rings to when you finally rest at night, life moves swiftly. The hours fill up with meetings, responsibilities, conversations, and endless notifications, and before you know it, you are trying to catch your breath. Some days leave you exhausted; others, fulfilled. Yet in those quiet pauses, a question remains: Which of these activities is truly worth the cost I am paying? 

This brings us to an important question: what does it mean to use time wisely or to be a good steward of time? 

Ephesians 5:16 says, “redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” This suggests that using time wisely begins with discerning the will of God for each season. It is prioritising what is needful and being intentional about how each day is spent.

Time does not exist in isolation. Within those 86,400 seconds are decisions, actions, and results, all shaped by what you choose to invest your time in. 

What you invest your time in often comes down to two things: 

1. The cultivation of your talents 

2. The management of your resources.

Every day, you trade your time for something. You exchange it for ideas, relationships, finances, skills, and growth, or, if you are not careful, for distractions and irrelevance. Time, therefore, becomes the substance life is made of.

When you dedicate time to learning, your talents develop. 

When you dedicate time to practice, your skills become sharper. 

When you dedicate time to wise planning and discipline, your resources grow and are better managed. 

Conversely, when time is neglected, gifts remain undeveloped, and resources are easily wasted.

Stewardship of time cannot be separated from stewardship of talents and resources. The way you spend your hours today determines the strength of your abilities tomorrow and the quality of what is entrusted to you in the future.

A simple place to start is by tracking how you spend your time. A to-do list may seem basic, but it forces you to decide in advance what deserves your attention. It shifts you from reacting to the day to directing it and being in control. Used properly, it becomes more than a productivity tool; it becomes a stewardship tool.

By the end of today, your 86,400 seconds will have passed. They cannot be saved for later. Another day will arrive with another 86,400 seconds, but what you do with today’s time has already shaped something within you. 

Can you say you’ve been a wise steward of your time and resources?

Stewardship isn’t about doing everything at once; it’s about making deliberate choices every day. So, decide today to make each day meaningful. It begins by identifying what genuinely deserves your time and committing to it intentionally.

Let’s talk: what are the things you think are the greatest thieves of time in our present days? Share your thoughts in the comments.