I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. – Ecclesiastes 1:14

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. – Ecclesiastes 12:13

Some years ago I read several books on the subject of time management. In one of the books, I ran across a story that is familiar to many. Despite its familiarity, the story illustrates such a powerful truth that I find myself reflecting upon it frequently. The story goes something like this:

During a talk on the subject of time management, a seminar speaker pulled out a rather large glass jar and a box. The box contained several large rocks, several small rocks, an abundance of pebble-sized rocks, and a bag of sand. The speaker called to the stage a young lady from the audience. He told the volunteer that the goal was to get all of the items into the glass jar, and he asked her how she would go about attempting this feat. She suggested first placing the sand within the jar, followed by the pebbles, small rocks, and large rocks, in that order. The speaker followed her directions, but after inserting into the jar the sand, the pebbles, and a few of the small rocks, the jar was full. The speaker thanked the young volunteer as she left the stage to return to her seat.

The speaker then pulled out another large glass jar and another box containing the same items. Without saying a word, he attempted the same feat. This time, however, he first placed the big rocks into the jar followed by the smaller rocks, pebbles, and sand. Each time he added an ingredient, he gently shook the jar to make the smaller items fill in the gaps of air left between the larger items. In just a few moments, the jar contained all of the items from the box.

As the audience looked on in amazement, the speaker softly said, “This glass jar is representive of your life. The big rocks are the important things in your life. The smaller rocks represent less important things, and the pebbles and the sand even less important things. If you allow the sand and the pebbles into your jar first, then they will fill up your life to the point where you will have no time for the big rocks, the important things. If, however, you make room for the big rocks first, then you’ll have enough time for the things that matter most. And, those less important things will miraculously fill in the gaps of time not filled by the important matters. Choose wisely how you spend your time. Purposefully decide to spend time on the important things in your life first. If you don’t, the little things will most definitely crowd out the important things, and you’ll reach the end of your life wondering what happened.

In your life and in mine, there will always be things competing for our time. Our challenge is to spend time on the important matters, and for the Christian what should be important to us is what God has shown us in His Word is important to Him. But how much time do we really spend on His important matters? Will God’s big rocks fit in our jar? Or, have we placed so much of our own sand and pebbles into the jar that there isn’t enough room for the things that matter most to our Creator? Let us examine ourselves honestly, and may God help us to choose wisely the items we spend our time on!