Matthew 9:9-13
Jesus' Time Management

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

New International Version

Jesus didn't just invite Matthew to join his followers. Jesus spent the rest of that day and all that evening with Matthew and all of Matthew's friends. Jesus' time wasn't spent lecturing Matthew on the Kingdom of God either, since the gospels portray the activity as a dinner party. He wanted to know Matthew, and he wanted Matthew to know him.

Jesus could have quickly dispatched the Pharisees who milled about the edge of the party to criticize. Instead, he engaged them, confronted them, challenged them, and made them think about what God expected from them. The gospels record three quick sentences of this exchange, but remember that the gospels came about when the skill of writing was rare, the cost of paper was exorbitant, and the art of brevity was esteemed! I imagine that Jesus sparred with these Pharisees for quite a while, turning their arguments and self-righteousness against them until they either got the point or got mad and left.

It is easy to recall other times in Jesus' life when he spent unhurried time with people. Think of the long conversation he had with the Samaritan woman at the well. Think of how much time it took when the children came to see him, for Jesus would greet them individually and listen closely to what each child had to say. Think of how long Jesus must have waited for the truth about sin to sink in when the Pharisees brought an adulterous woman to him and Jesus responded that the sinless person could throw the first stone. Think of Jesus on the way to Jarius's house to heal his dying daughter in Luke 8, as Jesus stops to heal the body and soul of the woman who touched the fringe of his cloak. Think of how patiently Jesus presented himself to both Herod and Pilate the night before his crucifixion, such that neither ruler could find fault with him. Think of Jesus' long dialog with Peter on the shore after the resurrection, as they patched up their damaged relationship and Jesus commissioned Peter to feed his "lambs."

As busy as Jesus must have been, and as short as his earthly ministry was, it is remarkable to me how liberally Jesus lavished his time on those that needed him. Jesus showed us that time is the vessel that carries love, and Jesus spent enough time with individuals to fill them to overflowing with God's love. He talked, he listened, he asked questions, and he kept asking more questions until he had prepared them to receive their personal blessing from God.

Since we are commanded to love each other as Jesus loves us, we ought to carefully consider how we manage our time. Worldly standards structure time management to maximize tasks completed, but God's standard measures the effectiveness of time management by how much of God's love is shared with others. I almost always think of walking as a way to get from one task to another task, but Jesus saw walking as an opportunity to interact with people. My friends have teased me the few times they've see me sitting still at church, because I'm almost always moving, doing, working, going. Especially there, I need to change how I use my time.

How did Jesus manage his time? He certainly did not "waste" his time. In three years of ministry, he laid the foundation for Christianity, trained the twelve apostles and scores of other disciples in principles that radically challenged existing religious and political mind sets, and personally changed the lives of thousands of people through his attentive care and his miracles of physical, mental, and spiritual healing. But he did all this with an unhurried style.

That apparent contradiction of an unhurried style and immense productivity is the key to managing our time the way Jesus managed his time. Simply put, Jesus prioritized people ahead of tasks. He would always take time to engage with people, so much so that several times we read how the disciples were frustrated, trying to hurry him along. Jesus particularly prioritized people ahead of pointless regulations as he regularly confounded the Pharisees about their rules and traditions. "The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath!" Jesus explained in Mark 2:27.

I need to consider that every interaction in my life may be an opportunity to offer a touch of God's love to that other person. I need to let go of my fears of lost productivity and trust God to use me. I need to allow myself the time to interact unhurriedly with others, so God can use that time. I need to ask more, listen more, and let the pace of conversations flow naturally if my time is to be a proper vessel of God's love.