Time Is on Your Side
Time Is on Your Side
Time Is on Your Side
Time Is on Your Side
Time is our most precious resource. Time is the means by which we can most align our life with the reason God has made us. Time is what we all have in order to respond to the call Jesus gives us and to live a life of purpose — glorifying God in all we do by loving others the way Jesus has loved us.
“Instead of freaking out about these constraints, embrace them. Let them guide you. Constraints drive innovation and force focus. Instead of trying to remove them, use them to your advantage." - Jason Fried & David Heinemeier
This is one of the most freeing and helpful principles I’ve ever learned.
Building a digital agency from scratch is not easy. In one of our most difficult periods of growth at our company, my friend and colleague Jason gave me this quote. Adopting this principle dramatically changed the way we approached our business.
Constraints Are Good!
We used "constraints are good” to guide clients, projects, resources, and relationships. Setting proper expectations with clients was the unlocking key to effectively managing all of our resources and relationships. We would guide clients by identifying their constraints and then give them ideas for improvement-based initiatives based on short-term and long-term possibilities and constraints.
Our clients would have to make decisions based on desired quality, timeframe, and cost. We often guided them by saying, you can only have 2. As an example we would say, “If you want high quality and really fast, it will cost a good deal more.”
Time — The Most Precious Resource
Most companies and people use their money to save time — to even buy time. But, no matter how much money you spend, the time in a day, a week, a month, and a year are fixed. And while some people may be spending a great deal of money to potentially extend their time on earth — our days are fixed.
All people should deeply consider the brevity of life in comparison to the length of eternity. It’s much more important to make the most of the time we have than to try to extend our time on earth. Consider the math of adding a few days — or even years on the denominator of eternal life.
"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." - [.no-reftag]Psalm 90:12[.no-reftag]
Time is our most precious resource. Time is the means by which we can most align our life with the reason God has made us. Time is what we all have in order to respond to the call Jesus gives us and to live a life of purpose — glorifying God in all we do by loving others the way Jesus has loved us.
When we align our goals, plans, actions, gifts, and means with our life purpose — life with Jesus — we are actually walking with Jesus. This is the way to live and work.
Time for Influence
For followers of Jesus, our fallen tendency is to think short-term. We far too often want results now, and this becomes our number one obstacle to maximizing all earthly resources for the long-term benefit of others.
Andy Crouch of Praxis presents a very helpful way for us to think about impact — in fact, he wants us to rethink in terms of influence rather than impact as our most vital role. Instead of thinking about impact as force over time to define long-term ultimate success, Andy suggests we think of it in terms of influence as force with a lengthy multiple of time.
Crouch explains that force over time compounding is slow but exponential. “It's not actually force used at one time. If you have enough time, you can start with a tiny amount of force — a tiny amount of good focused on purposeful outcomes and you will have influence.”
“If you have enough time (t) it doesn't really matter what, how much force (f) you begin with. This is the power of a mustard seed. This is the power of raising a child. This is the power of building a friendship. This is the power of a life of prayer.”
“The story that brought us here is a 2,000 year story, in some ways 4,000, but 2,000 l say because it's the story of the most fruitful tree in history. A tree that is bearing more and more extraordinary fruit…”
Crouch goes on to suggest that our best work — our “redemptive quests” — should be using a small amount of force through our ideas and active initiatives — over time — to make the biggest influence on the people and communities around us.
Time Matters
John Mark Comer, in his book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, says “In the end, your life is no more than the sum of what you gave your attention to. That bodes well for those apprentices of Jesus who give the bulk of their attention to him and to all that is good, beautiful, and true in his world. But not for those who give their attention to the 24-7 news cycle of outrage and anxiety and emotion-charged drama or the nonstop feed of celebrity gossip, titillation, and cultural drivel.”
Comer says, “Listen, I have good news for you. Great news, in fact.
You.
Can’t.
Do.
It.
All.
And neither can I. We’re human. Time, space, one place at a time, all that pesky non-omnipresent stuff. We have limitations. Lots of them.”
The goal of Comer’s book, to put it simply, is to help you organize your life around three basic goals:
- Be with Jesus.
- Become like Jesus.
- Do what He would do if He were you.
This is incredibly important for us to realize. This is the aim and purpose of our lives. Jesus is our source of peace, purpose, and power (John 20:21-22).
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” - [.no-reftag]John 15:5[.no-reftag]
We can do nothing of any value without Him; therefore, we must start our days and purposes with Jesus and remain in Him for everything.
Time Is on Your Side
There is all the time we need to influence those Jesus wants us to influence. Jesus created and sustains time perfectly.
Jesus came at just the right time (Luke 2:6), did everything at just the right time (John 7:6), and will return to earth to draw all people to Himself at just the right time (John 13:31-32). Jesus created all things — including time — as gifts for us to use for knowing Him and becoming like Him.
Let’s use our time this way:
- [.text-color-blue]Intimacy with Jesus[.text-color-blue] - To remain in Jesus is to be intimate with Him. Jesus knows everything about us and loves us more than we love ourselves. There is no better way to spend time than to spend time in prayer. Jesus’s early life was marked by prayer with His Father. He could do nothing without the Father (John 5:19), nor can we do anything without prayer. We should start our days with Jesus and talk with Him throughout the day, everyday — staying aligned to His will.
- [.text-color-blue]Intimacy with others[.text-color-blue] - We are commanded to love others — like Jesus (John 15:17) and to get involved in their lives. We can’t have lasting influence without meaningful relationships. Spending time building relationships is always worthwhile, even if the relationship ends poorly. Intimacy is an interpersonal connection that involves being vulnerable in appropriate ways intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Caring for others involves being present and understanding. To be understanding, we must ask questions that will help us see where others are and show us how we can meet them there.
- [.text-color-blue]Ideas[.text-color-blue] - We are charged to use our imaginations — like Jesus — to create solutions for our neighbors and communities. We are made to create solutions for what should be done now, soon, and over time. Each of us has unique giftings and experiences that lead us to think of how to redeem the world around us. We were made to wonder what is possible and invent new ways to do things while discerning what is right and best for others.
- [.text-color-blue]Initiative[.text-color-blue] - We are called to action — like Jesus — for the benefit of others. This is love (John 15:13 and Philippians 2:3-4). We love others by using our unique gifts to consider their needs deeply and invest in them by equipping, enabling, and empowering them to be the best versions of themselves. This often includes motivating them when they need it and helping them finish what needs to be done.
If we spend time with Jesus, become like Jesus, and act like Jesus, there is no limit to the influence that we can have for the good of others and glory of God — whether our time remaining is short or long. Time is on our side!
Resources:
Complete the Creating Value Worksheet
Video: "How to Make the Most of Your Time" | Howard Graham
Article: "Choose Opportunity — Choose Relationships First"
Article: "The Only Way to Grow"
Article: "Made to Create Value"
Video: "Impact and Influence" | Andy Crouch, Praxis
“Instead of freaking out about these constraints, embrace them. Let them guide you. Constraints drive innovation and force focus. Instead of trying to remove them, use them to your advantage." - Jason Fried & David Heinemeier
This is one of the most freeing and helpful principles I’ve ever learned.
Building a digital agency from scratch is not easy. In one of our most difficult periods of growth at our company, my friend and colleague Jason gave me this quote. Adopting this principle dramatically changed the way we approached our business.
Constraints Are Good!
We used "constraints are good” to guide clients, projects, resources, and relationships. Setting proper expectations with clients was the unlocking key to effectively managing all of our resources and relationships. We would guide clients by identifying their constraints and then give them ideas for improvement-based initiatives based on short-term and long-term possibilities and constraints.
Our clients would have to make decisions based on desired quality, timeframe, and cost. We often guided them by saying, you can only have 2. As an example we would say, “If you want high quality and really fast, it will cost a good deal more.”
Time — The Most Precious Resource
Most companies and people use their money to save time — to even buy time. But, no matter how much money you spend, the time in a day, a week, a month, and a year are fixed. And while some people may be spending a great deal of money to potentially extend their time on earth — our days are fixed.
All people should deeply consider the brevity of life in comparison to the length of eternity. It’s much more important to make the most of the time we have than to try to extend our time on earth. Consider the math of adding a few days — or even years on the denominator of eternal life.
"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." - [.no-reftag]Psalm 90:12[.no-reftag]
Time is our most precious resource. Time is the means by which we can most align our life with the reason God has made us. Time is what we all have in order to respond to the call Jesus gives us and to live a life of purpose — glorifying God in all we do by loving others the way Jesus has loved us.
When we align our goals, plans, actions, gifts, and means with our life purpose — life with Jesus — we are actually walking with Jesus. This is the way to live and work.
Time for Influence
For followers of Jesus, our fallen tendency is to think short-term. We far too often want results now, and this becomes our number one obstacle to maximizing all earthly resources for the long-term benefit of others.
Andy Crouch of Praxis presents a very helpful way for us to think about impact — in fact, he wants us to rethink in terms of influence rather than impact as our most vital role. Instead of thinking about impact as force over time to define long-term ultimate success, Andy suggests we think of it in terms of influence as force with a lengthy multiple of time.
Crouch explains that force over time compounding is slow but exponential. “It's not actually force used at one time. If you have enough time, you can start with a tiny amount of force — a tiny amount of good focused on purposeful outcomes and you will have influence.”
“If you have enough time (t) it doesn't really matter what, how much force (f) you begin with. This is the power of a mustard seed. This is the power of raising a child. This is the power of building a friendship. This is the power of a life of prayer.”
“The story that brought us here is a 2,000 year story, in some ways 4,000, but 2,000 l say because it's the story of the most fruitful tree in history. A tree that is bearing more and more extraordinary fruit…”
Crouch goes on to suggest that our best work — our “redemptive quests” — should be using a small amount of force through our ideas and active initiatives — over time — to make the biggest influence on the people and communities around us.
Time Matters
John Mark Comer, in his book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, says “In the end, your life is no more than the sum of what you gave your attention to. That bodes well for those apprentices of Jesus who give the bulk of their attention to him and to all that is good, beautiful, and true in his world. But not for those who give their attention to the 24-7 news cycle of outrage and anxiety and emotion-charged drama or the nonstop feed of celebrity gossip, titillation, and cultural drivel.”
Comer says, “Listen, I have good news for you. Great news, in fact.
You.
Can’t.
Do.
It.
All.
And neither can I. We’re human. Time, space, one place at a time, all that pesky non-omnipresent stuff. We have limitations. Lots of them.”
The goal of Comer’s book, to put it simply, is to help you organize your life around three basic goals:
- Be with Jesus.
- Become like Jesus.
- Do what He would do if He were you.
This is incredibly important for us to realize. This is the aim and purpose of our lives. Jesus is our source of peace, purpose, and power (John 20:21-22).
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” - [.no-reftag]John 15:5[.no-reftag]
We can do nothing of any value without Him; therefore, we must start our days and purposes with Jesus and remain in Him for everything.
Time Is on Your Side
There is all the time we need to influence those Jesus wants us to influence. Jesus created and sustains time perfectly.
Jesus came at just the right time (Luke 2:6), did everything at just the right time (John 7:6), and will return to earth to draw all people to Himself at just the right time (John 13:31-32). Jesus created all things — including time — as gifts for us to use for knowing Him and becoming like Him.
Let’s use our time this way:
- [.text-color-blue]Intimacy with Jesus[.text-color-blue] - To remain in Jesus is to be intimate with Him. Jesus knows everything about us and loves us more than we love ourselves. There is no better way to spend time than to spend time in prayer. Jesus’s early life was marked by prayer with His Father. He could do nothing without the Father (John 5:19), nor can we do anything without prayer. We should start our days with Jesus and talk with Him throughout the day, everyday — staying aligned to His will.
- [.text-color-blue]Intimacy with others[.text-color-blue] - We are commanded to love others — like Jesus (John 15:17) and to get involved in their lives. We can’t have lasting influence without meaningful relationships. Spending time building relationships is always worthwhile, even if the relationship ends poorly. Intimacy is an interpersonal connection that involves being vulnerable in appropriate ways intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Caring for others involves being present and understanding. To be understanding, we must ask questions that will help us see where others are and show us how we can meet them there.
- [.text-color-blue]Ideas[.text-color-blue] - We are charged to use our imaginations — like Jesus — to create solutions for our neighbors and communities. We are made to create solutions for what should be done now, soon, and over time. Each of us has unique giftings and experiences that lead us to think of how to redeem the world around us. We were made to wonder what is possible and invent new ways to do things while discerning what is right and best for others.
- [.text-color-blue]Initiative[.text-color-blue] - We are called to action — like Jesus — for the benefit of others. This is love (John 15:13 and Philippians 2:3-4). We love others by using our unique gifts to consider their needs deeply and invest in them by equipping, enabling, and empowering them to be the best versions of themselves. This often includes motivating them when they need it and helping them finish what needs to be done.
If we spend time with Jesus, become like Jesus, and act like Jesus, there is no limit to the influence that we can have for the good of others and glory of God — whether our time remaining is short or long. Time is on our side!
Resources:
Complete the Creating Value Worksheet
Video: "How to Make the Most of Your Time" | Howard Graham
Article: "Choose Opportunity — Choose Relationships First"
Article: "The Only Way to Grow"
Article: "Made to Create Value"
Video: "Impact and Influence" | Andy Crouch, Praxis