Time Management and the Christian Woman

by Betty Morehead

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV).

The above scripture is a promise of God, just like the promise of eternal life, but we usually find it more difficult to believe. Picture the typical household all trying to eat breakfast, make lunches, and leave at the same time in the morning. Or consider the businesswoman working to complete a project that has been stalled by weather and labor disputes. In the fast pace of modern life, it is easy to resign oneself to the attitude of “There just aren’t enough hours in my day.” But God promises otherwise. What is the answer?

In considering the topic of time management, the Christian woman needs to ask herself two questions: What is my part in organizing my time, and what is God’s part? Both aspects will be discussed as we consider the following four steps for managing our time in a godly manner: pleasing God, setting priorities, planning, and putting the plans into practice.

Pleasing God

God’s Plan or My Plan?

The place to begin for the solution of any problem is one’s relationship with God. Psalm 127:1 states that “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain” (NIV). We all want our time and efforts to be productive and ultimately meaningful, but the Bible teaches that God must agree with our plans for them to succeed. There is no shortcut to knowing what God expects of us, but the daily study of His word will provide us with a standard for all our decisions. God does not want His children to labor in vain. He has given us His word to make us wiser than our enemies, to fill us with insight and understanding, and to keep us from making wrong decisions (Psalm 119 NIV).

Prayers for God’s Guidance

A relationship with God also involves daily prayer, a practice that teaches us to depend on Him for guidance and support. Specific prayer increases our faith because it gives us more opportunities to see the ways God intervenes in our lives. Begin every day by asking to see God’s intervention in your life, and for His help in using your time wisely. Pray throughout the day whenever your time is challenged by conflicting demands, or you have an unexpected free hour. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5 NIV).

Recognizing and Balancing Need

Two other questions to consider when pleasing God with your time are:

1. Are you task oriented, or people oriented? Often, we get so caught up with the job that we lose sight of our goal to serve God. For example, a woman can fall into the trap of being a Martha instead of a Mary (Luke 10:38-42 NIV), someone so concerned about making all the preparations for a dinner party perfect that she barely has time to talk to her guests. That is the trap I would fall into when guests came for a meal at our home. My intent was that all their needs would be met. I attended to each crucial detail, fluttering from table to kitchen and like the butterfly, never landing anywhere for very long. The food was superb, as were the preparations, but my interaction with my guests was superficial. When I realized that my guests could help and that I could even leave dishes to wash later, I learned to concentrate on my company and to communicate the warmth that Christ would.
2. Does your definition of important agree with God’s? The completion of one God-given task should never mean the neglect of another; both are important. 

Setting Priorities

When we have decided to submit ourselves and our plans to God and have sought counsel in the Bible, in prayer, and from other believers, we are ready to set priorities. God has given the guidelines to do this in Matthew 6:33–34, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (NIV).

Jesus teaches us not to expend time and energy on what may go wrong, but to focus on what it means today to pursue God’s will and to do what is best for His kingdom in every situation. As Christians, most of our dilemmas are not between good and bad, but between good and best. Pray, as Paul did in Philippians 1:9-10, that the Lord will lead you to what is best (NIV). Usually, God’s method of answering our priority-related questions is through the advice of stronger and more disciplined Christians than ourselves (Proverbs 20:18 ESV).

An aid to setting the proper priorities is to make goals for yourself and then match your time use to those aspirations. Constantly ask yourself if the way you are spending your time right now is helping you to become a more effective women’s counselor, a mother of children who love God, a spiritually as well as professionally successful career woman, or a better wife.

Planning

The third step to fruitful time management is to plan ahead. It takes time to save time, but the reward is a more productive day. Planning weekly and daily seems to work well for me. On Sunday when I’m worshipping with the Lord’s body, I pray for God to show me any needs in the group that I can meet. By the time I sit down that evening to map out the week ahead, I am aware of what the present needs are, and my first responsibility is to God’s kingdom. Next, I consider the people in my sphere of influence whom I hope to bring closer to God. Third, I go over the duties facing me: business trip, class preparations, laundry, dentist appointment, making cookies for the class party, etc. I now have in front of me three lists: Christians who need me; non-Christians I can influence; and this week’s duties. These lists will change on a weekly basis; but they must be slotted into a schedule that has some structure already. Write down a seven-day schedule, filling in apportioned time for things that don’t change: worship times, personal Bible study, work, and other obligations. For the other items, priorities must be established. On another piece of paper, write down what is most important, then what is good, but not top priority, and finally, what is necessary sometime soon. This gives you three levels of tasks. Do the ones that are most important first, and don’t make them contingent upon doing the ones of lesser importance. Regularly review what you have done to evaluate how it could have been done better.

Some planning tips are:

1. Check your schedule the night before, and set you mind on what’s to be expected.
2. Get up early. Allow enough time for prayer time and a study of God’s word.
3. Use “dead time” constructively. While showering or walking, make plans and pray that God’s ideas will come into your mind.
4. Call ahead.
5. Be prepared. Keep enough gas in your car. Know where you are going.
6. Combine errands and appointments. Don’t waste time.
7. Group activities by location.
8. Keep a calendar by the phone or in your purse.
9. Try to eliminate follow-up calls.
10. Double up time. Chaperoning my child’s trip allows me to spend time with my children, exercise, and meet adults in my community.
11. Use unexpected time to fill in chores.
12. Delegate some responsibilities and train others in what you have mastered.
13. Schedule times for fun, rest, and meditation.
14. Avoid overplanning.

Putting it into Practice

Spiritual priorities and wise planning are useless until they are put into practice. The road of good but unfulfilled intentions is paved by inconsistency, procrastination, and laziness. To reach the goal of godly time management, you must make a firm decision to fight those sins by being consistent, dependable, and energetic. Follow through on the commitments you make and do things on time without looking for ways to postpone responsibility. The command, “Let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation” (James 5:12 ESV), exemplifies how serious God is about our reliability. Regard laziness as stealing time from God, and consider this scripture in Ephesians 4:28, “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need” (NIV).

Finally, keep in mind that we are trying to control our actions to be in harmony with His plan. Even the most disciplined life will be subject to unexpected schedule changes. Interruptions, however, need not distract us from our goal or cause us to lose our temper and efficiency. If we have the kind of relationship with God that enables us to depend upon Him totally, then we can be confident that our dinner guests will be served on time even though a friend who is in desperate need of counsel calls us while we are getting the meal ready. Strive to be flexible.

Each new day is a precious gift from God, another opportunity to do His will. We can make the most of that gift by setting priorities that reflect Jesus as Lord, by planning before we begin, and by not allowing changes and interruptions to keep us from our goals. We need to remember that though we can prepare well, God will decide how events fall together. We should not question His wisdom because He knows the end of the story and is all powerful.

About Elizabeth (Betty) Morehead

Betty and her husband Stan were part of the Lexington Church of Christ (which later became the Boston Church of Christ and part of the International Churches of Christ). While living in Boston, Betty and Stan made a lifelong decision to submit their lives to Jesus Christ and they have never wavered from that commitment. 

In 1978 they joined the bible discussion group (Bible Talk) led by Bob and Pat Gempel. That group met every Monday for ten years. During this time, many people became disciples of Jesus.  

Later, Stan and Betty served as deacons in Bedford, Massachusetts. While there, Betty’s administrative talents greatly contributed to the success of the Women’s Discipleship Conferences (WDC). Her experience as an event planner and her first career as an Arabic language teacher prepared Betty and Stan for work overseas. They were employed by HOPE worldwide in the Middle East. In addition to the United States, she and Stan have contributed to ministries in six other countries. 

Betty grew up in the southern United States. In addition to their foreign work, Betty and Stan have contributed to ministries in Phoenix and other cities in the southwest. They currently live in Missoula, Montana but are moving back to Phoenix, Arizona.