The value of time (Pioneer Business)
In a series of articles, the Pioneer Business team have been introducing the values of their community and gathering people to explore each principle through monthly zooms. If you would like to receive their updates directly to your inbox and join their events, subscribe to their email list here.
Time
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.’
Psalm 90:12 ESV
We are inviting members of Pioneer Business to commit to using time wisely according to biblical principles and rhythms: at work to take a Sabbath (one day a week when no ‘work’ is done), at home to prioritise quality time with your family, and in church to prioritise time for community and ministry.
“Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping, into the future…”
(Did I really just start this article with a quote from a 1960s rock band? Yes, yes I did… thanks Steve Miller).
I would imagine that most of us would like more time in the day.
There just never feels like there’s enough time to get through that to-do list. If by chance we have some time to spare, we sit and think “ok I have some time to spare…gulp, what am I missing? I MUST have forgotten to do something, see someone, write something, plan something, pay someone…”
On top of all that - God tells us to STOP. How on earth do we incorporate a Sabbath into our time? A whole day doing no work, whilst the tasks continue to pile up?
Then again, sometimes it feels like time is just dragging on. A waiting period, a not-yet season. Waiting for that client to answer, waiting to get paid, waiting for the sun to come out, waiting for the next holiday.
We are all stewards of time.
At work, at home, in church. The question we need to be asking ourselves is: are we stewarding it well, in the busy and in the waiting, in the mad rush and the not-yet, or do we just allow it to control us?
Author Arnold Bennet wrote, “we shall never have more time, we have, and always have had, all the time there is”.
And then of course - let’s get holy now - there are multiple references to time in the Bible. We are taught about seasons, to number our days, how God’s timing is beyond anything we experience, to make the best use of our time and that time is in His hands…to name just a few.
My husband Roger and I have experienced both sides of the dichotomy of time this year.
In January 2024 I bought a small training organisation here in Lille, France with a colleague. In our first year we grew our little team of three to 11 contractors, saw a healthy increase in turnover and walked a steep learning curve on how to run a business (to all you pro accountants out there, thank you! Us ‘non-numbers’ people need you so much!). My job, being slightly more flexible, means that I am also more available to run our kids around to their various extracurricular activities.
Roger, on the other hand, has been in a waiting game. Waiting for clients to sign up and become members of the co-working he opened in May 2024. His days have been busy, but the waiting for clients and money to come in has been real and hard.
Both in the running around and the waiting, we’ve had to learn, and are still learning, to trust God in His timing and purpose for us here in Lille. Knowing that we are here for Him. Our family, home life and church are the reason we moved to France in the first place, and they are what keep us here - not our jobs (even if jobs do help us be here).
Now, you may have moved because of a job, and I’m certainly not saying that’s not okay! But I hope I’m singing to the choir here when I say that when it comes to time, the order should be: God, our core relationships (family and church) and then the work God has called us to.
As Ken Costa wrote in his book, God At Work: “Either time imposes its tyranny on our lives, or we act decisively, using it to reflect our priorities”.
We want to start a conversation about time.
We want to invite you to be part of a conversation that explores time in the context of the workplace which then leads to prioritising quality time in the home and in your church community. What could it look like to be a business community that is taking control of time rather than letting it happen? What could this look like for your business or those you know working in business, in your home life and in your church?
We don’t have the answers so want to learn from those who have walked the walk, are walking the walk and are engaging with the issue and making progress. Maybe that’s you?
We believe we can encourage and help each other to do this in order to help businesses empower churches and local communities.
by Georgina Eaton
Since moving to Lille, France 11 years ago to pioneer Église Coeur de Grace with husband Roger and two amazing kiddos, Georgie has been a self-employed business English trainer in higher education institutions and businesses. In January 2024, she become a co-owner and manager of BCLS, working with small, medium and large multinational companies in Lille, and managing a growing team of language trainers.