Thursday, March 28, 2024

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葡萄樹傳媒

有意義的一分鐘或塞滿行程的一分鐘?

By: Jim Lange

你是否有足夠的時間?世上的人肯定都說:「不夠」! 但這不一定是對的,因為每個人每天一樣都有二十四小時,沒有人有更多或更少的時間。

為什麼我們會感到時間不夠用呢?因為我們喜歡把時間用在一堆不重要的事上。除了工作,我們又要上臉書、推特,又要載孩子去上各式各樣的才藝課,又要看電視,結果我們總是趕來趕去,把時間都浪費掉了 !

我們的生活很少留白,我們總是拼命地將每一件事塞進行程表裡。忙碌的行程會使我們錯失最重要的一件事,那就是關係

我想請大家思考三件事:
現在我如何使用我的時間? 目前的狀況如何? 當我回天家時,我對自己使用時間的方式感到滿意嗎?我最近聽到有人在討論這個主題,自己也花了一些時間來思想自己是如何使用自己的時間,我想神並不希望我如此地忙碌。祂喜歡我享受這一趟生命的旅程,但實際上要做到真的是很難。

但是,我已經決定要經常問自己:「什麼才是最重要的?」來跳脫這一個惡性循環,不要像倉鼠在跑滾輪一樣不停地忙碌。我發現自己有時去做某些事是因為我已經習慣去做,而非因為它們很重要。一方面,以目標導向去做這些事某個層面來說對我的生活是有幫助的,但是另一方面太忙碌已經傷害了我的人際關係了。我將人放在事情的後面,但是其實人才是最重要的。

我開始去評估我所做的事是否真的是最重要的,你是否也願意開始檢視自己的時間表?

對我們很多人來說,這樣的檢視可能會令人不安甚至是很恐怖的。但是事實是,如果我們繼續維持過去的生活方式,我們永遠就是這樣。

我們在世上的日子有定時,我們無法給一天多加一分鐘,也無法給我們的生命多加一天。所以時間是我們最寶貴的資產。你是否願意加入我的行列,檢視自己如何使用自己的時間並好好利用自己的生命?我們要創造有意義的每一刻、而非把每一刻都塞滿行程。如果我們只注重把每一刻都塞滿行程,我們就不大能建立關係,尤其是長期的關係。當然我們做事要很有效率,但是人際關係不需要太有效率,就是這些「不大有效率」的時間創造了「有意義」的時間。

在舊約的詩篇裡面,我發現了一個很有智慧的建議:「求你指教我們怎樣數算自己的日子,好叫我們得著智慧的心。」(詩篇90篇12節)

© 2012 版權屬於 Jim Lange. Jim是「職場真理」事工的聖經理事長www.christianroundtablegroups.com這個事工的對象為職場人。Jim在 www.5feet20.com的部落格上定期發表文章,他也是「Bleedership」這本寫給領袖的聖經書的作者。他和家人住在美國俄亥俄州 Toledo附近。

思想與問題討論
你是否有過這樣的念頭:「時間怎麼都不夠用」? 你經常會這樣想嗎? 本文作者Jim問了三個問題,前兩個是你如何使用自己的時間?目前的情況如何?你的回答是什麼? 文中,作者提到忙碌到像倉鼠一樣在滾輪中沒命地跑,你的生活是否也是如此?如果是,你是否曾經想要改善?結果如何呢? 在你的心目中,有意義的一分鐘和塞滿行程的一分鐘最大的不同是什麼?註:如果你手上有聖經,想要知道更多與這個主題相關的經節,請參考下面的經節:
詩篇89篇47節;傳道書3章1-8節、11、8章5-6節;9章11-12節;以弗所書5章16節;歌羅西書4章5節

CAUGHT UP IN MINUTES – OR MOMENTS?
By Jim Lange

Time. Do you have enough of it? If you are like the rest of the world, you will answer that question by saying “No!” However, you would be wrong. We all have enough time. In fact, each of us has the same amount of time each day: 24 hours. Nobody has more, and no one has less.

The problem with most of us is that we have become addicted to filling our time with things that do not matter. We fill it with tasks at work. We fill our time on social media like Facebook and Twitter. We fill it by transporting our children to numerous events and after-school activities. We fill it watching TV. We find ourselves constantly in motion, squandering precious minutes and hours.

We have allowed very little margin in our lives, so we frantically rush around trying to squeeze everything into our schedule. Sadly for many of us, at the end of the day we have missed out on what really matters: relationships.

I have three questions for you to ponder: 1) How do you spend your time? 2) How is that working for you? 3) When you are on your deathbed, will you be happy with the way you have spent your time?

I heard this subject discussed recently and it got me thinking about my life and how busy I seem to be. I do not think God desires me to be this busy. I do believe He wants me resting along the way and taking time to enjoy the journey, but sometimes it seems so hard.

However, I have determined to jump off this “hamster wheel” by frequently asking myself what is truly important. I have had a tendency to do things simply because I have always done them that way. I have been very task-oriented which, on one hand, has been helpful in some areas of my life. However, it has hurt some of my relationships, as I have erred in emphasizing tasks at the expense of people I genuinely care about.

As a result, I have begun a process of evaluating all that I do and asking myself how important each opportunity really is. Would you be willing to do the same?

For many of us, such a process of self-evaluation can be unsettling, perhaps even frightening. But the bottom line is this reality: If we continue doing things as we always have, we will continue to get the same results we have always gotten. And this includes the way we use our time.

Our days are all numbered. Just as we cannot add a single minute to a 24-hour day, we cannot add even one day to the span of our lives. Time is the most precious commodity we have. So would you join me in trying to make the most of the days you have left – by looking to create meaningful moments rather than maximizing your minutes? If we are focused on maximizing each minute, this will lead to us trying to create microwave relationships. Trust me, this does not work well, especially long-term. We can be efficient with things we do, but we must learn to become very inefficient in our relationships. This is where moments are created, and they cannot always fit a convenient schedule.

In the Old Testament book of Psalms we find this wise advice: “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

© 2012 by Jim Lange. Jim is a chapter president with Truth@Work (www.christianroundtablegroups.com), a ministry to people in the workplace. He writes a regular online blog, www.5feet20.com, and is the author of a book, Bleedership: Biblical First-Aid for Leaders. He and his family live near Toledo, Ohio, U.S.A.

Reflection/Discussion Questions
Have you ever thought, “I do not have enough time?” How often do you feel this way? Jim Lange asks three questions. What are your answers to the first two: How do you spend your time? And, how is that working for you? He uses the analogy of the hamster wheel, the image of little mammals running frantically on the metal wheel and going nowhere. Others make the comparison of being stuck on an unending treadmill. Do you ever have the sense that your life is like that? If so, have you tried to remedy that – and what has been the result? What, in your mind, is the difference between “meaningful moments” and “maximizing minutes”?NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to review additional passages that relate to this topic, consider the following verses: Psalm 89:47; Ecclesiastes 3:1-8,11, 8:5-6, 9:11-12; Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5

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