Promptness Blesses.

If you have ever been blue-ticked on WhatsApp, you will know what I am talking about.

As creatures of time, God has also designed human beings to operate within time and space. But the way we steward time is affected by human corruption, too. That’s why the scripture has a lot to say to both sluggards and busybodies.

Muleefu.com — *Kampala Image by Badru Katumba*/X

To bring this home, the most familiar case in our African context are “time lags” that make our work and life inefficient and unfruitful, even for the kingdom.

For example, a friend told me the other day how he sent an email inquiry to an African university, which got replied to months later (after he had acquired a scholarship elsewhere abroad). He also highlighted how swift his correspondence with the latest admissions adviser at the Western University was- swifter than he had ever witnessed. We might generally beat our Western brothers in being “flexible,” but they beat us hands down on being “efficient.”

If you are an honest Ugandan, too, you will agree that our phones are, for example, full of unanswered texts and emails. which is understandable once in a while. Yet when communication generally delays, it’s hard to figure a way forward, and communication delays eliminate clarity, sometimes building emotional walls and generally generating “indifference and apathy,” the two cousins of lovelessness.

Swift action on matters of urgency also speaks to where our hearts are and, ultimately, where your treasure is. The things we love, we tend to act quick about, and the things we consider peripheral, we tend to give least attention. This could probably explain why most Christian organizations or workers are not often the most efficient in their sector, yes, I said that too.

Promptness is not limited to communication; it extends to character. Paul tells converted people in Ephesus to consider not going to bed while they were still angry, so as you grow in stewarding time, hurry up to cultivate virtue too; don’t delay to forgive, love, trust, and change now, not later.

As an editorial consultant, for example, I’ve interacted with clients who sometimes seem more concerned about promptness the same way they are concerned about excellence.

Jesus knew his timeline; when he would get crucified, you can’t believe the number of times he stated, “My time has not yet come.” The Apostles would state that at “just the right time” God sent a man, born of a woman, to save us. Salvation was not delayed by a second; at the right time—not earlier, not later—God redeemed promptly.

Of course a sovereign God accomplishes various things we are clueless about through several delays, but people formerly animated by the spirit of the age and now by the Spirit of God need to apply themselves to his influence and ensure their short, yet redeemed time under the sun counts for the glory of God and the good of others.

African institutions, known for both their bureaucracy and time-wasting, are good locations to demonstrate a God who understands the preciousness of time. An answered email may become a foretaste of the eternal reciprocity that will be ours when we are ready to perfectly love our neighbor.

A monthly goal not thought through ahead of time may help you wonder where time went, despite your new year resolution. Or a season without the internet may help you start reflecting on where all the time often goes!

Whatever it is, God’s call on us to redeem the time does not suggest we float as the clock ticks but that we take action at just the right time, as often as we can.

Blessing others by being prompt.