A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I wasted my time being a high school student. The same can happen with being a Christian unfortunately.
I skipped classes, did the least amount of work required to skirt by, quit baseball my junior year, earned a Ph.D. in passing notes during lectures, and was never able to muster the courage to befriend the girl that I had a two-year crush on.
(Incidentally, I was a pitcher for my high school baseball team. And like many other young dudes, my dream was to play in the Majors. So when I saw this guy on TV for the first time, my first reaction was to pinch myself.)
Anyways, when the day came when many of my classmates were being rewarded with full-ride scholarships, I was crestfallen.
I had wasted my time as a high school student.
Well, dear Christian, you can do the same with your walk with the Lord.
You can waste your time as a Christian.
Paul exhorts us to “redeem the time because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16)
Make no mistake: It takes time to know the Lord. It takes time to learn to live before Him. It takes time to grow in His life. And you can easily waste time being a Christian.
In fact, there are specific things that you can do (or neglect) that will throttle your spiritual life.
Namely…
10 Ways in Which You Can Waste Your Time Being a Christian:
1. Allow yourself to be bitter against someone who has hurt you.
Bitterness will destroy your spiritual life and take others down with you (Hebrews 12:15).
2. Use your time, your money, and your resources only for yourself and your needs.
In other words, live life for yourself (and your immediate family) rather than for others.
3. Spend little to no time with the Lord in solitude – just you and Him alone.
Fill your life with all sorts of other activities. Stay busy.
4. Neglect reading the Scriptures.
They reveal Christ and contain God’s life (John 5:39; 6:63; 2 Timothy 3:16). They are food for your spirit. To neglect them is to starve your spirit.
5. Defame others or misrepresent them or their work (especially fellow believers).
Don’t go to them directly if you have a concern or problem and ask them for clarity. (And if you do go to them, don’t listen to what they have to say.) Be not deceived: To speak ill about or misrepresent another follower of Jesus is to speak ill about or misrepresent Jesus Himself. And He doesn’t take it kindly (Matthew 25:40; Acts 9:1-4; Titus 3:2).
