As I mentioned in this past Sunday’s sermon at Restoration City Church, life is pretty full for Laura and I these days. She’s just started a new job as a school nurse, we’re juggling kid’s summer camp schedules, I’m in grad school, and there’s this whole thing about leading a local church. So, we are most emphatically not bored! In fact, we’ve been having a lot of conversations rooted in the truth God shares with us through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk – not as unwise people but as wise – making the most of the time, because the days are evil.

Ephesians 5:15-16 (CSB)

This is more than biblical affirmation for good time management. It’s a reminder of how easily we can squander our time in meaningless or even damaging pursuits and a reminder that it takes a tremendous amount of wisdom to steward the days God has given us. None of us exhibit this kind of wisdom by default, it takes tremendous intentionality and a vibrant relationship with God.

It was in pursuit of that intentionality that I was reminded of a significant truth: 12×2=24. Granted, I’m no mathematician but it wasn’t the algebra that seemed so significant. It was the implications for my calendar. Let me give you one simple example.

Three years ago, I started serving in our neighborhood HOA. I wanted to meet the neighbors and make our little community better. Despite those lofty intentions, I’ve learned a profound truth – the first thing Satan did after his fall from heaven was establish an HOA. Ok, that’s a bit extreme. But not by much. It’s been a challenging experience but I’ve stuck it out because I hate quitting and really wanted to make things better. But here’s the thing, part of the way I justified my involvement was by reminding myself that it was only a 2 hour meeting every month. This is where a little math can give us a lot of perspective. What I had lost sight of was the fact that even if my involvement was only 2 hours per month (which is a lie, by the way), then over the course of the year I would have invested the equivalent of three full work days into this one project. Three whole work days!!!

Let’s zoom back out for a minute – my point in writing this is not to bash my neighbors or HOAs. I’m honestly grateful for those who are serving our community and am open to rejoining them when my life calms down just a bit. That’s just the scenario that got me thinking about all of this. My real goal in sharing this with you is to remind us all of how easily small commitments can add up and squeeze out space for the things we truly care about (family, friends, God, church, serving in areas of gifting and passion, etc…) If we’re going to live with focus, intentionality, and significance, we’ve got to watch out for the small things that keep us from the big stuff.