1. What God has given me is sustainable.
2. An opportunity does not equal an obligation.
3. I must identify and focus on the most important things.
4. Tarrying times are not idle times.
5. I will center my time on the main thing God has called me to do.
-From Paul Chappell, Stewarding Life
“As a pastor, I’ve stood by many deathbeds. I’ve listened as people have looked back over their lives and whispered their final regrets. Never once have I heard someone say, “I only wish I had worked more overtime” or “If only I had become the CEO.” But I have heard many people lament, “I wish I had spent more time with my children” or “I wish I had invested more into the work of the Lord.” It is entirely possible to diligently spend your time on fleeting goals. Some things just don’t matter when you approach the bridge between time and eternity. If you don’t clearly identify what true success is, you will come to the end of your life and realize that you lived for the wrong goals. At that point, you will wish you had invested more into eternity.” -Paul Chappell, Stewarding Life
“Time—however many years of it we have—is our opportunity to achieve success in life. But if we don’t clearly identify what success looks like, we may come to the end of our lives only to realize that we lived for the wrong goals. What is your definition of success? From a secular perspective, success may be making wise financial investments, climbing to the top of the ladder in a career field, or accumulating prestigious possessions. None of this is necessarily wrong, but neither does it quantify true success. After all, good financial returns, high positions in a career, and material possessions won’t last forever. If these become the goals of your life, when your time is gone—so is your success. When God tells us to steward our time with wisdom—to redeem the time—He spells out what He means—“understanding what the will of the Lord is.” Success is knowing and doing the will of God. It is investing our time in that which will last for eternity.” -Paul Chappell, Stewarding Life
A Pilgrim's Theology 