First Fruits and the Stewardship of Time

“Wherefore I give unto them a commandment, saying thus: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him.” – Section 59:2a

I attended a time management course many years ago and the instructor challenged us with a simple question: “If you had a 25th hour each day, how would you spend it? I like most of those there answered with items like: study the scriptures, pray, write a letter to a friend, call someone special, etc. The instructor then asked “Why do we put off to the 25th hour those activities that are the most meaningful and important to us?” That thought has never left me.

There is no question, our lives our busy. What we choose to fill our lives with though is important. The opening verse of the 59th section says that when we pass from this life and rest from our labors, our works will follow us. A sobering thought for sure. How have we spent our time? What are our works? Are they for the benefit of the kingdom or some other purpose?

God wants our first fruits. He wants and needs our best. We too often offer Him only the small fragments and pieces of life that are left over after we take care of everything we want to do and justify as necessary. He wants us to take the activities that we would put into the 25th hour and put them into every hour of every day. He wants ALL of our heart, might, mind and strength and surely He is worthy of every effort we can make in this life to honor Him and promote the kingdom.

It really is just a matter of our focus and priorities. If we can see the bigger picture and understand the true meaning and purpose of our sojourn on earth, then our choices will most certainly change. We labor and toil in worldly affairs because we want to be profitable. King Benjamin taught that all God requires is for us to keep his commandments and if we would do so we would prosper. Alma taught that our days on earth are days of probation and we are here to work out our salvation and live in thanksgiving daily. Much of what presently consumes our time has no lasting or eternal value. If the kingdom is to be a reality in our midst, our focus and priorities must change. We need to be better stewards of our time here on earth.

What a blessing it is to have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light. Our indebtedness to Him is great and while we will never be able to repay the ransom that was paid for us we should labor diligently with all our heart, might, mind and strength for the cause of the kingdom and by so doing become lively stones that are fitly framed together into a spiritual house … the very kingdom of God.

Give of your best to the Master;
Give Him first place in your heart;
Give Him first place in your service;
Consecrate every part.
Give, and to you will be given;
God His beloved Son gave;
Gratefully seeking to serve Him,
Give Him the best that you have.