Kairos: Transforming Your To-Do List

Word of the Week

 

Kairos – Transforming Your To-Do List

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:16 KJV)

 

“Redeeming the time” – it sounds like a biblical motto for time management.

And everyone needs help with time management.  We consistently hit the end of the day long before we reach the end of our to-do lists.  And there’s a whole industry devoted to blogs and books that help you get more done.

Listen to a tale of two conveyer belts.

The first conveyer belt shows up in a classic scene from I Love Lucy, where Lucy and her friend Ethel are working in a chocolate factory.  Their job is to wrap each piece of chocolate that comes down the belt.  At first, all goes well.  But the chocolate pieces start coming faster and faster!  They struggle to keep up, and then begin to scoop the pieces into their apron pocket.  They pop a few in their mouths, desperately trying to keep up with the never-ending flow of candy.  It’s hilariously hopeless!

The second conveyer belt is in baggage claim at our local airport.  My wife and I recently returned from a trip to Salt Lake City, and I was waiting at the carousel while dozens of suitcases came tumbling down the chute.  I could never have retrieved them all, but I didn’t have to!  I just waited until I saw the two pieces that belonged to us.  Grab those, and we’re ready to go!

The first conveyer belt pictures the endless to-do list, the unending flow of needy people and unkept promises.  We try to do everything, and in the process we fail.

The second conveyer belt reminds me of a more sensible approach to time management.  Instead of doing more and more, we aim to do the things that count.  Time management gurus would say, “Don’t work harder; work smarter!”  Instead of learning how to do more, learn to do the right things.

Which of these approaches do we find in Ephesians 5:16?

It all rests on Paul’s choice of one of the two Greek words for time.

He could have said, “Redeem the chronos.”  Chronos describes a period of time.  It emphasizes quantity, simply telling you that a certain number of hours or days have passed.

If Paul had used that word, it would be easy to hook this command to the chocolate factory version of Christianity.  He would be demanding that you do something productive with every single minute – all day long!

But that’s not the word he used.  He said, “Redeem the kairos.”  Kairos describes a particular point in time, a critical moment when something can happen.  It is often translated as “opportunity.”  It emphasizes quality, not quantity – not how many hours you work, but whether you do something about each opportunity that God gives you.

It’s like the baggage carousel – you don’t grab every suitcase.  Instead, you wait until the right one arrives, then you haul it onto the floor.

The New Testament uses Kairos 87 times, so we can only look at a few illustrations of its meaning:

• Matthew 13:30 – In this parable, the landowner leaves the weeds untouched all summer. Then when the time of harvest comes, he clears them out – at just the right time.
• Luke 1:20 – The angel Gabriel tells Zacharias that all the predictions he has just received will be fulfilled – at the proper time.
• Galatians 6:9 – Don’t become weary in doing good, for you will reap a harvest – at the right time. Notice that this implies a fairly long wait until the time is ripe.
• Galatians 6:10 – Therefore we should do good to everyone – when the opportunity arises.

In Matthew 26:18, Jesus explained that his time had not yet come, speaking of His death and resurrection.  He didn’t mean that he need more time to finish His work; he meant that crucial moment had not yet arrived.  In the scheme of God’s plan, there was a fixed time, a divine appointment with the Cross.

Sometimes Kairos can refer to “the right time, whenever that is.”  In Luke 12:42, Jesus described a steward who distributed food to the household “at the appropriate time.”

Kairos can refer to an opportunity that comes at a particular time, one that may not be repeated.  In Luke 19:44, Jesus warned that Jerusalem had missed the moment when their King visited.  As a result, they were doomed to destruction.

In Ephesians 5:16, then, God asks us to buy up all the opportunities that come our way.  We don’t have to feed every hungry person in the world or give Bibles to every one of the billions who don’t know Jesus.  But God will send a certain number of opportunities down the baggage belt, opportunities tagged with our name.

Our responsibility is to be on the alert, ready to respond to each divine appointment that we discover in our day.

 

© Ezra Project 2018