I had decided not to post today for several reasons:
First, I posted Thursday, Friday & Saturday, and felt that should hold you for a few days. Quality material like Gassy Bear and Goblin Valley – both in one weekend- should be plenty for even the most diehard MMM follower. Right?
Second, I’ve been busy this past week, and will be busy this next week. Gotta rest up, you know.
So, I slept in, had a relaxing morning, went to hear a recently returned missionary speak, did my home teaching, and am now waiting to go to my block of meetings. (Not a fan of late church.)
Then I was reading church news stuff – because it’s the Sabbath and all, and I came across an article mentioning Elder Ballard’s recent visit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Kirtland and Liberty Jail historical sites. (Link here.)
The very last line of the article, Elder Ballard is quoting as saying this:
“For the devil is stealing time, the time we would spend to wonder at spiritual things. Instead, we get so caught up in the things that ‘seem’ to matter, when all of us need to slow down and find a time to contemplate.”
Whoa. That is worth talking about. I have always considered my time-wasting to be merely a matter of my lack of self-discipline. The idea of the Devil “stealing time” is a different take on the issue. It makes it a little scarier, and a little more urgent, but also makes it more understandable.
I have decided today I am going to spend some time thinking about how the Devil steals my time, and see what I can do to minimize that problem. In order to do that, I will first need to find some time. (And I can already appreciate the paradox.)
There are obvious time wasters that I hold up –
Is the internet evil, or is it good? Neither/Both. It is what we decide to use it for. That is where the Devil can exercise his influence. Can the adversary prod people into putting evil things online, and then prod us to waste our time there? Sure. He can even prod us to spend excessive time doing good things – like indexing or family history online – so that what was originally good, can become bad, and detrimental to our lives and family.
Television? Is it evil, or its it good? Neither/Both. Same argument can be made, although we are much more willing to be force-fed by the TV than the internet.
Are sports evil, or are they good? Neither/Both. Their impact depends on how we approach them. Again, that is where the Devil can exercise his influence. I spent 4+hours of my Saturday watching BYU beat Houston. I figured I needed a break, and it was a good way to spend some time. Had BYU lost, I would look back at it as a terrific waste of time.
This is the first autumn in more than a 15+ years where we have not had one or more children playing sports, and/or me coaching a team. You wanna know something? It is HEAVEN. I LOVE having our Saturdays back. They can be relaxing, or fun, or productive. They can be what we choose to make them – and I no longer get sore from spending long days on bleacher.
But those three examples are easy scapegoats, and identifying them does not solve anything – and that’s where my thinking needs to lead – to solutions.
More than anything else, Elder Ballard’s quote reminded me that I need to create more time to turn it all of and think. Just think, think, think -like Pooh Bear. (Or “ponder” if you are LDS)
Carving out those moments is not always easy. I equate it to cleaning out the garage: If I spend an afternoon sorting, throwing away, and reorganizing the stuff in our garage, inevitably someone in the family will bring out even more stuff and ask if there is someplace they can put it.
It is that way with thinking time. Life – or sometimes the Devil – has a knack for finding out about our quiet time, and figuring out something “important,” “fun” or “urgent” to shove into that space we’ve just cleared out. My free time is always under siege.
There is a quote I know that applies, but was unable to find it on Google, or figure out who said it. (Weird) It is this: “If we stopped to think more, we’d stop to think, more.”
I know that making a case to prioritize “thinking time” could appear a little self-focused, but, personally, I think if I stopped to think more, the Spirit would have a better chance to reach me, and I would be better prepared to be an effective husband, father, friend, employer, etc.
Back in 2007, Elder Dalin Oaks gave what I think is one of the BEST conference talks ever given. “Good, Better, Best.” Watch it if you get a minute, or read it HERE.
It is definitely time WELL spent – and we know the Devil hates that,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlhS7W6gtIc
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I’m currently enrolled in the BYU-I Pathway Program which is amazing! (But keeps me busy and that is why I’m just now catching up on your blog.) Last week, we were learning about time management and this quote from President Eyring struck me: “Time is the property which we inherit from God, along with the power to choose what we will do with it.”
Our time here on earth is a gift from our Heavenly Father and we will have to answer for how we used it. Kind of a scary thought considering all the time I have wasted on Pinterest.
This reminds me of my favorite MLK quote. He said ” Time itself is neutral;it can be used either destructively or constructively. More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will.”
There’s never time to do it right, but always time to do it over.
Sometimes we’d be a lot farther ahead if we’d just slow down a bit and make sure we’re doing the right thing in the right way rather than just spinning our wheels, being busy but not productive.
I loved Good, Better, Best, and have used it several times for examples/lessons. The best use of time is an on-going quest.
I was there in person (with my 5 oldest children) last week at the Liberty Missouri Stake Center when Elder Ballard referred to his talk he gave early that day… that the devil is stealing time. He listed some of the very ways you list, that we really don’t even need in our lives.
Elder Ballard was TIRED. He was up at 5:30 am to speak to the youth in Kirtland, Ohio, and then travelled to Missouri to first speak at Liberty Jail and then to us gathered in the Stake Center. He said that when the alarm goes off in the morning, he wakes up and thinks, well, I’m still here, I’d better do what the Lord wants me to do today. I was listening to him say this at 8:30 pm in the evening, in an earlier time zone. I sure hope I can keep going like he does when I’m 85. Talk about not wasting any time.
Elder Ballard also referred to a dream that Wilford Woodruff spoke of. He talked about waiting to speak to Joseph Smith. Different (deceased) members of the founding fathers of the church rushed by, all in too much of a hurry to speak to President Woodruff. Joseph Smith came back (after rushing by before…) and asked what was needed.
First President Woodruff asked why everyone was in a hurry.
Joseph Smith answered (in the dream) and responded- (quoting directly here) “I will tell you, Brother Woodruff. Every dispensation that has had the Priesthood on the earth and has gone into the celestial kingdom, has had a certain amount of work to do to prepare to go to the earth with the Savior when He goes to reign on the earth. Each dispensation has had ample time to do this work. We have not. We are the last dispensation, and so much work has to be done, and we need to be in a hurry in order to accomplish it.”
So… we need to ask ourselves… if Joseph Smith was in a hurry to accomplish what has to be done in our time and our dispensation, how much more careful do we need to be with our time?
Sometimes I turn off the radio in the car when I run errands. Nice to have time to think.
Good, Better, Best was my all time favorite lesson to teach in Relief Society in (so far) my very favorite calling.
Thanks for giving me stuff to ponder on!
Great post. Although your back ground makes the screen on my tablet look dirty. I get distracted by spots that aren’t really there. 🙂
I’m glad you like the post. Just think of the background as a rustic reminder that I am a flawed man.
Elder Ballard told me once that I needed to spend more time reading the BOM and less time on Facebook. I try.
I had this thought when you wrote your 4:30am wake-up call post, but it works here, too. I often will hit my pillow, completely and utterly exhausted, having been ready to go to bed for two hours, and suddenly will be completely unable to sleep. Thoughts just start racing through my brain. Usually, I give up on sleep and get up and write for an hour or so, just to “empty my mind” so I can rest. It used to really annoy me, and then a while back it occurred to me that, with four small children at home, and all the chores/homework/tasks I am usually busy trying to accomplish in the two hours between when I put them to bed and when I want to get myself to bed, that moment that my head hits the pillow is often the first chance I’ve had to simply think, quietly and without interruption, all day. And I think better–more clearly and thoroughly–when I write. I realized a few months ago that I only write, in a journaling/spiritual thoughts type way, a few times a week on a good week. Before kids, I wrote for an hour or two almost every day, and felt completely discombobulated if I didn’t. Thanks for reminding me that I need to be better about carving out that time.