ORIGINAL POST 6/15/2021
REVISED AND REPOSTED:
Last week on the blog I discussed the difference between busy work v life’s work and how a large percentage of our time on earth will be spent working, so it’s important to make sure you are doing your life’s work and not just busy work. If you missed the post, be sure to check it out.
This week I want to explore the definition of time and go a little deeper on the topic of how we spend our time. I recently became more aware of the concept of two types of time, Kairos Time and Chronos Time.
According to Wikipedia, Kairos is an Ancient Greek word meaning the right, critical, proper or opportune moment or time for action while Chronos refers to chronological or sequential time.
Over the last couple of months, I have been divinely connected with individuals whose marketplace message includes sharing about the concept of Kairos. Through conversations with them and some recent research, I am beginning to truly appreciate, acknowledge, and accept Kairos time more than Chronos time. I have started to study what it means for us as Believers who are business owners and entrepreneurs to be more focused on Kairos time.
I was recently introduced by Lissa Figgins of Redeem Your Time Podcast to two powerful questions that you can ask yourself that can help you understand whether you are operating in Chronos time or Kairos time. When you are asking yourself, “What time is it?” you are focused on chronological time. Wanting to know the specific time or wanting to know how much time you need or how much time is left.
On the other hand, when you ask, “What is it time for?” You are being more mindful of the moment. You are being more aware of the present moment and what needs to happen in that specific moment.
Shifting from a “What time if is it?” focus to “What is it time for?” can make a world of difference in your life and business.
As a type-A personality who constantly uses a timer to help me manage my time and my tasks for the day, I totally understand the need for us to be aware of and manage our chronological time. To achieve our goals we have to stay focused and use our time wisely so methods such as the Pomodoro (a technique that uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks) can be super useful to stay productive and get stuff done. I personally prefer to use a simple timer on my phone to block off 45-60 minutes to get tasks accomplished and to make sure that I am staying aware of the time.
However, I have not been as intentional about Kairos moments, the appointed time to take action. A great biblical example of Chronos v. Kairos is the example of Mary v. Martha (Luke [10:38]-42). Martha was so focused on all the tasks at hand that she neglected to pay attention to the appointed time that she had been given to be in the presence of Jesus. On the other hand, Mary was well aware of this Kairos moment and spent her time at the foot of Jesus taking advantage of this appointed time. Martha was so focused on the tasks at hand and what needed to be done that she complained to Jesus and Jesus had to get her to realize that she was missing out on the opportunity at hand.
When it comes to you and your business, are you focused more on the tasks at hand and may be neglecting the appointed moments where you can make a difference in someone’s life or someone could make a difference in your life although it may not be on your schedule or even on your radar for the day? Pay attention to the opportunities that cross your path that may not be what you had planned, expected, or scheduled, but it is what God has Divinely appointed for this specific time or season.
This is a huge struggle for me because I love to go by my schedule and always like to have a plan for the day, week, and month. So becoming more aware of when I need to abandon my schedule and be Holy Spirit-led with my action is something that God is working on with me. How about you? Are you more focused on Chronos time or Kairos time, and in what ways does this show up in your business? Be sure to share in the comments below: