Always Enough Time

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

TAKE CARE OF THE NEEDY. Visit the widow. Evangelize the lost. Teach your children and grandchildren to love the Lord. Serve in the church. Serve in the community. Sometimes our to-do list can feel so long. It is easy to be driven by guilt or by need instead of being driven by God.

But look at Romans 12:12. It’s all about attitude: Be joyful, patient, faithful. The context helps too. Romans 12:1 says that each one of us is to be a “living sacrifice” (NIV). Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (NIV). These are attitude adjustments. Romans 12:3: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you” (NIV). Attitude. Then Romans 12:4-8 encourages people to be who they are and use the gifts God has given them. No unreal expectations, no harsh criticism, just let people be who God made them. Attitude again. God is concerned with your attitude behind your actions. Get off the frantic, guilt-driven merry-go-round. Focus less on what you are “doing” and more on who you are “being.”