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February 2, 2013

Whose time is it?

How many times were you late to a meeting this week?  How many times did your family have to wait on you for dinner because you didn’t come home at the time you said you would?

I don’t have a good track record of being on time.  This week was even worse than others! Sometimes things come up that are beyond our control.  Things like traffic, weather, someone catches you in the hall on your way to a meeting, etc. Sometimes things are within our control, like you forget (that is the worst!), or you don’t allow yourself enough time to get there (bad planning!), or you just don’t feel it is important to be there on time so you don’t make that much effort for it to happen.

I’m here to tell you it IS important.

I was affected by it this week by someone else, when I had to attend an important business meeting at work.  We all showed up on time, but the person that was leading the meeting was late.  Really late.  This not only affected the tone of the meeting once they arrived, but it caused our effectiveness of the meeting to be severely diminished, as everyone was holding a grudge or steaming still from having to sit there and have their time wasted.

“Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.” I peter 2;17 (NIV)

Even within our own family, this is a hard trait to teach (at least it is for my wife and I!).  When my wife and I start to become late, we end up pushing our kids a little too much and they end up moving even slower than we want them to in the first place!

A Real Christian Businessman realizes that promptness is next to Godliness (well, it doesn’t say this in the same way in the Bible, but I think you know what I mean).  By setting an example yourself, that is the best thing you can do for all.  Plan better, get up earlier, set your alarm sooner – make efforts so that you are honoring to others with you time, especially within your own family.  You, as well as everyone else, won’t regret it.

What can you do this week to be on time to your meetings and family events?