19 Feb This One Conversation Exposed A Huge Lie

One day at church, a group of us were talking about things that we want to grow in. I said, “I want to learn how to play the bass, but I don’t have time.” My friend Tom asked, “Do you watch TV?” I replied by saying “yeah.” Tom then replied, “Then you have time.” I looked at someone else for defense and with one look was told “Yep! He’s right!”

THE BIGGEST LIE

One of the biggest lies that exists today is “I don’t have time.” If we are honest with ourselves, we know we have the time do what we need to do. The problem is that we give our time to things that don’t matter.

When this conversation happened, I thought and believed that I didn’t have time to learn the bass. What I realized, after I thought about what Tom said, is that I do have the time to learn how to play the bass. I’m just filling that time by watching TV. The truth was that I wanted to watch TV more than I wanted to learn how to play the bass. The lie was that I didn’t have time. Ironically, I was asked by the Praise and Worship leader a short time after if I had any interest in playing, and now I have been playing the bass for four years now.

To be clear, I still watch TV. I watch basketball, football, and a couple of other things. I do find it relaxing. The main difference now is that watching TV is something I do if I have time left over (for the most part). I still plan to watch certain things from time to time; it just doesn’t consume my life as much anymore.

Balance is Key

Of course, in everything, there is a balance. There will be some things that you need to say no to for a season. You can’t try to do everything that you want to do all at once. Sometimes you need to put your focus in specific areas of your life for a short time for various reasons. Sometimes you honestly may not have time, but at least examine your time to see if you can. You may not have all the time that you want, but you can still use the time that you have.

Have You Accepted the Lie?

I believed that I didn’t have time because I gave it to watching TV. It will be different for different people. Social media has a place in our lives today. Many people use it for productive purposes. If you believe you don’t have time, I dare you to examine how much time you spend on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and all the other apps. What you will probably find is that you do have the time; it’s just that it’s being taken up with other things.