Song of Solomon 1:6 “…they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.”

Outside pressures and distractions can keep us tending to “the vineyards of others,” causing us to neglect our own.

Paul told Timothy to “keep that which is committed to thy trust” (I Tim. 6:20). It is easy to get pulled away from the things that matter most in life. We all know stories of people who were a “success” in one area of life to the detriment of another or of those who lost focus on their God-given priorities and destroyed their lives.

The New Year gives us a time for reflection and a chance for refocus. Meditating upon our God-given roles and responsibilities will help us develop a map or GPS to guide our goals, our calendars, and our time in 2017.

Here are some points that I hope will be helpful as we look at another year.

• Identifying My Vineyard

Here are some of my personal rolls and responsibilities:

Christian – I have a personal walk with God to develop and maintain.

Husband – I alone have this place in my wife’s life.

Father – I alone have this place in my children’s life.

Pastor – There is a special role I play in the life of our church.

Son – I have parents to honor.

Brother – I have two siblings to love.

Friend – God has given me friends to encourage and help.

What are the God-given rolls in your life?

In what roles are you irreplaceable?

• Keeping My Vineyard

Everyone has a limited commodity of time at work, at home, and at play. I must be a wise investor of my time.

In my career as pastor, my most important duty is to “feed the flock.” If I spend all my time planning activities, cleaning, visiting, and doing things to the neglect of my most important duty, I will ultimately be a failure in the ministry.

On average, most people have less time at home than they do at work. So it’s important that home time is quality time. We have the most influence and impact in the lives of others when we have their attention. Enjoying one another’s company with good communication and building memories is not very likely to happen while we’re watching TV, looking at our phones, or playing video games. Building something together, playing board games, having devotions, and going on date nights are undoubtedly going to be the better investments of our time.

How is my time best spent at work, at home, and at play?

In what area of my career or job do I bring the most value?

How can I make my time investments with my family and friends more beneficial?