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Key Bible Verse: It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night … God gives rest to his loved ones (Psalm 127:2). Bonus Reading: Psalm 90:10-17

About five years ago I stopped wearing a watch for the simple reason that my preoccupation with it was turning me into a time legalist. Everything I did—like meeting with someone for lunch—took on significance based on how much time I spent doing it. I began breaking up the day not by blocks of hours or hours, but by minutes and sometimes even seconds (I could brush my teeth in 22!).

Time—not God—was the fixation of my life. Sure, I was never late for appointments, but I wasn't much fun attending them either, as they all seemed like unforgiving deadlines to me. Megan was glad when we got time together, but I was always thinking about the rest of my schedule and had trouble really enjoying those moments. None of this was healthy, and I finally recognized that I needed to stop the cycle.

I still don't wear a watch, but I do check periodically on the handheld iPAQ I carry around. Since I took a break from always and easily glancing at my watch to see how late, early, or right on time I was, my perspective has changed. Now I try to consciously decide to use time as the gift it is rather than the curse I'd made it to be.

—Craig Dunham in TwentySomeone

My Response: I'll recall a slice of time that has become a treasured gift.

Thought to Apply: There is more to life than increasing its speed. —MOHANDAS GANDHI (Indian nationalist &spiritual leader)

Adapted from TwentySomeone (WaterBrook, 2003) by permission.

Copyright © 2005 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Lord, I want to use the time you've given me in ways that yield long-term significance.

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