Take a moment to look at your daily average screen time and consider what tasks you see as ‘important’ or ‘urgent’.
We all know what the right thing to do is, so what makes it so difficult? We label ourselves as Christians, and we know the basics, such as praying in the morning, before meals, and before bed, reading devotions, and attending church every Sunday. But are these truly what your heart desires? Or is your heart slowly being dragged towards the temptations of our personal pleasures instead?
Priorities as God’s Children
As Christians, how should we order our time? What should we prioritise?
We all have limited time on this earth, so it’s worth using wisely; in other words, we should use the time we have to build our relationship with God, know Him, and serve Him. These things should be our priority and goal in life.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
– Matthew 6:33
Matthew 6:33 tells us that our first and foremost priority should be spending time with God and getting to know Him. God is the centre of our lives. This may include reading the Bible, praying, and having a one-on-one conversation with God in our hearts. In everything we do, God must be first in our hearts. Additionally, as students, God has given us the responsibility and task to do our best academically.
So then, where should we put our academics in our priorities? Should it be put first and above God, or last? Neither. Why? Because, as students, doing our utmost best in academics is glorifying God. Whether we receive top marks or low marks, God will always be pleased with it as long as it was our best.
The Truth Lying Behind Our Priorities
Our priorities aren’t just what we see as important, but behind what we prioritise lies a deeper truth that is worth considering. Sometimes our pleasures become our priorities, which then become our idols. What is an idol? Through a Christian lens, an idol is any object or concept that is given a place of importance that is equal to or higher than God. In other words, we can identify something as an idol when, for example, we choose to continue doomscrolling rather than read our devotions, or even if we get upset when these kinds of things get taken away from us. This reveals how much we value our personal pleasures compared to the value we place on spending time with God.
Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.
– Leviticus 19:4
This verse emphasises that we are not to build our own idols because God is our one and only Lord. Although we may not physically create and bow down to idols, this concept can still be seen when we choose our own ‘me time’ instead of time with God. We may not realise it, but these worldly things will slowly become our deepest values and desires, gradually reaching an equivalent level to how we value God.
God must be our most beloved. He must be the one we talk to, have fellowship with, and contemplate on – God must be what we prioritise in our everyday lives. And talking to God is not something restricted or limited to a certain part of each day, such as morning or night. We must always remember that we are God’s children, meaning that we can and should talk to Him at any time, day or night.
This brings us to two options:
Prioritizing God or prioritizing ourselves.
Is ‘Me Time’ Something Bad?
Does this mean ‘me time’ is something bad? Is it a sin? Are we forbidden from watching our favourite TV shows or playing video games?
No, these are not bad things; they are not a sin. It isn’t that we are not allowed to have our personal downtime, but we must keep in mind that what we do is always in the presence of God. Our ‘me time’ can thus be spent with the awareness of God’s presence; this prevents us from falling into sin, knowing that God is right before us.
However, our personal leisure will become something negative when it consumes more time than we give to knowing God. If this occurs, we should pause and reconsider what we are valuing and prioritising in our hearts.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
– John 14:6
John 16:4 reveals that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the only way to come to the Father. So we must always keep in mind that the pleasures of the world, such as games, will not satisfy or fulfill our desires entirely nor bring us closer to God. Moreover, it will not strengthen our relationship with Him.
Once again, this doesn’t mean it’s a sin; we may still do these things, keeping in mind what we should value and prioritize.
What Now?
Knowing we must prioritize our relationship with God, how should we do this through our day-to-day activities?
Read:
Dedicate some time every day to spending some time with God, reading His word. Whether it be in the morning or at night, God invites us to read the Bible. Unlike our own leisure, reading His word will offer not entertainment but something far more meaningful: comfort, love, and wisdom.
Pray:
We can talk to God anytime we want! There is no set time to pray each day. He is our father, we are His children, and with this relationship, we can talk to Him whenever we want. Prayer should become something we do regularly. When feeling tempted, we must plead to God and ask Him to help us overcome temptations so that we put Him first in our daily lives.
Managing time:
Once again, it isn’t a sin to do things we enjoy; we can still pursue our passions and joys, in fact, we should use the gifts God has given us to do His will. However, we must manage our time wisely. Set a time each day to spend time with God and keep it regular. The time we spend on ourselves should also be spent wisely and within certain boundaries, knowing that our ‘me time’ too can glorify God.
