By Charles E. Hummel
Eagle. 130 pages. £5.99
ISBN 0 86347 303 2
This is a book about how to manage your time. Unfortunately, Charles Hummel does not provide a magic wand. Fortunately, his book is wise, biblical and practical.
The author's basic premise is that, in our use of time, 'our greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important ones' (p.10). The solution Hummel suggests is not a series of time-management techniques, but help in learning to manage ourselves under the lordship of Christ.
Hummel begins by describing Jesus' approach to time, highlighting his total commitment to his Father's will. He makes the telling point that 'Jesus did not meet all the human needs he encountered - many urgently desired by family and friends, and by others' (p.23) but he did complete the work his Father gave him to do. Likewise, Christians who want to use their time more effectively should put their commitment to the will of God as their top priority.
The author suggests a four-step method for putting this into practice: setting priorities, taking an inventory of actual use of time, budgeting hours, and implementing the plan. These chapters are full of sensible, godly advice - for example, on the art of saying 'no'. But, in some ways, the heart of this material is in the final three chapters and appendices (and perhaps it would have been better for this section to appear earlier in the book). There, Hummel explains the crucial importance of Bible reading and prayer, focusing particularly on the need for regular 'time out' with God. He describes how to have a 'quiet time', how to understand the Bible and pray. And there is an interesting section on 'practising the presence of God' - living with and for God, moment by moment.
I think this is an excellent book. Rather than providing sticking-plaster solutions, it tackles the problem of over-busy lives from its heart. It was particularly encouraging to read a book addressing a modern topic which has such a high view of Scripture. One minor criticism - the subject index was missing from my copy. To get the full benefit of the book, there are questions for reflection/discussion and exercises for evaluating and planning (where I would have welcomed a bit more guidance or some examples) - all of this will take time, but time well spent!
