TheeSoulFuel Podcast
Welcome to your essential pitstop, where your soul gets the fuel it needs for life’s journey. In Christ, faith is the vehicle steering us through every twist and turn. Join us as we dive into real conversations about real-life challenges, all viewed through the lens of scripture. Don’t leave empty—come and be filled with the wisdom, strength, and grace to keep going.
TheeSoulFuel Podcast
Don’t Waste Time Part I
By contrasting these methods with the often reckless "YOLO" mentality, we aim to inspire a life lived purposefully in Christ. Drawing from my own experiences in the filmmaking industry and an eye-opening move to Los Angeles, I share personal struggles and crucial lessons learned about following one's unique path rather than blindly emulating others.
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Bill Gates and all of these people, the Elon Musks of the world, the Mark Zuckerbergs, as worldly or as secular as they are. I'm using them as an example to show you how they did not waste time. They made the most of their time, they did not stay busy, they stayed productive. What's happening, everybody? Welcome to another episode of the soul fuel podcast. This is your pit stop for your soul to get fueled up for your journey in life, and also doing it with christ. Here we give you words of wisdom, however the Holy Spirit want to use us to give it. We're just going to keep it raw, real, holy, and I'm your host, willie Robbins III, aka Pastor Will. Listen, you might want to strap in your seatbelt because we're getting ready to go on a little ride real quick, and I just want to bring to you the importance of time. Right, I want to bring to you the importance of time. Uh, time is of the essence, right, time is of the essence. And there is, uh, this thing that the world says right, yolo, y-o-l-o, you only live once, and I agree with that statement. But I don't understand, I don't agree with the reason why the statement is made. Right, the statement is made because they want you to live your best life, which there's nothing wrong with living your best life, but we know, as believers, your best life is in Christ. But when they say you only live once, it is to get you to live in a way that is almost careless, right? Careless turning up, doing whatever it is that you want to do before you die, and usually it has a lot to do with living reckless. It has a lot to do with living reckless. It has a lot to do with, you know, being a hoe right, that's one of them like smoking, drinking, turning up, doing everything that it is that you feel like you want to do as if it is your last day on earth. And so I just want to come to talk to you about the importance of time, and the topic of the discussion today is don't waste time. You got to stop wasting time. Listen, this is so important to me because I'm guilty of this, and I've been guilty of this for the last couple of weeks. I've been making the most of a little bit of the time, but I haven't been doing exactly what I know that I could be doing. Right, I haven't done as much as I know that I could be doing. And I think this is important, because when we look up, after time has passed and we all know that the years are going by fast, the days are shorter, I mean the time goes out of the window. We don't it like time is, is like in a picture and it and it's being poured out and we're running out of it, little by little, and and. When we are uh busy and and and and our time is being taken up by little, uh, things that are minuscule, that things that really don't mean nothing, like things that are minor. We look up and there's a whole lot of time that passed by and then we wonder okay, well, what happened? I was supposed to be here, I was supposed to be there, I was supposed to be over there and I was supposed to be. So there's a few ways to look at this thing. Right, I've been in the film industry I would say I've been doing film for about 10 years now and I was going hard.
Speaker 1:Several of those years, a lot of those years, I was going really, really hard. I was trying to meet the people that I thought I needed to meet so that I could go the places where I wanted to go. I even moved to Los Angeles as I talk about this all, all the time because it was a big move in my life, it was a big milestone that I made in my life, but only for me to realize that that wasn't where I was supposed to be. You know, I would love to go back any day, but not for a career. I want to go back just for the weather and an opportunity to really do ministry. Because I didn't go there to do ministry. I went there to follow my dreams, chase my dreams as a filmmaker. But what I realized is that I could have done that a long time ago. Covid was the best opportunity for me to make that move with a family, even working for an airline at the time. It made it easy for me.
Speaker 1:But I will say before that even while I was chasing film, I wasn't really doing everything that I could do in terms of taking advantage of my time. If I could go back I tell my son this all the time and he don't understand it time, if I could go back I tell my son this all the time and he don't understand it he, I don't think he's ever going to get it until he is well up in age and and most young people don't really realize this or take advantage of it until about 30 years old, if, if they snap out of their, their mindset of whatever it is that they think of this generation thinks of. But had I really applied myself like I do now the majority of the time I would be I think I would be further, further off. I've. I believe that, um, I would be a lot further ahead, and not necessarily where I am today. I think I would be further. I can honestly say that because I don't think I made the most of my time.
Speaker 1:I wasted a lot of time trying to switch up my path. And when I say switch up my path, while in the film industry and being saved and being a preacher and an actor, filmmaker, while doing these things right, while literally doing these things, I feel like I wasted a lot of time trying to compare myself to others, others' paths right, trying to compare myself to others, others' paths right. I thought I was supposed to do it, like Ryan Coogler, and when I realized, okay, that's not my way, I will go back to my way, but then I will go back and look and I'm like, well, maybe I haven't tried it all the way, maybe I haven't did exactly what I was supposed to do for that way to work for me. And sometimes you have to realize that you are not the same. And this is not even sometimes Let me take that out of there. This is not.
Speaker 1:Sometimes you have to know that your path is not everybody else's and as soon as you realize that and as soon as you understand that, the more you can be successful, the more you can take advantage of the time, knowing that, yeah, you only live once, but for even that, you know that you only live once in this life, and in this life while you're living, you're dead to sin and you're living unto the Lord, and it is Christ. You live in Christ now, and so now you have to be mindful of how you walk, how you do the things that you do, because your identity is not in what you do. Your identity is in Christ, and I believe I shared this before in a past episode. But it's important that we really understand this, because, had I realized that, if I had stayed in the way that I was going, in the path that I was taking, which was going to film festivals and doing all of these things and enduring during those tough times in the beginning of my career, I probably would have seen more success than I have now. But at the same time, you can't say that it wasn't in the Lord's will. Well, you don't know what's in the Lord's will other than what you continue to do by faith. Right, had I continued to push all of the boundaries and exhausted every option that was legal, that was not wrong for me to do as a believer.
Speaker 1:I believe that I probably could have made more connections. I probably would have had access to more capital to do the things that, uh, I always wanted to do, even in making movies. Now I probably would would be at another level, with it not saying that I would be like Hollywood level or or, you know, studio level, but I could have been. I could have been like um, you know, a24 bloomhouse type director. You know I could have probably had some episodes of television at least, even though television, uh, was never my goal. You know television directors make make decent money. They'll make a a person's yearly salary in one episode, you know.
Speaker 1:So I say all this to say that you know when you wasting time is easy. It's very easy to do? You can easily waste time by trying to be busy. Let me say that again you can easily waste time by trying to be busy. You can waste time by staying busy. There's a difference in being busy and being productive, being busy and being productive there's a difference between being busy and being productive, and I want to give you a couple of things to look at. You know, when it comes to being busy, right, because being busy often means filling our schedules with activities and tasks without a clear purpose. Right, like what is my purpose with activities and tasks without a clear purpose? Right, Like what is my purpose? Even when you go to your dead nine to five, what is the purpose? We know that your purpose is to make money so that you can pay your bills. Do what you need to do, of course, absolutely.
Speaker 1:But what can you be doing while you're working? I'm not saying don't be focused on your job. No, definitely be focused on what you're supposed to do. But what are you doing during your breaks? What are you? Do you have a job where you have a lot of off time? Do you have a lot of downtime? With my last job, working for an airline, you know being in the bag room and being on the ramp. You know, sometimes we didn't have flights. So the question is what could I do with my downtime and what I was doing with my downtime? I was actually getting being productive during my downtime. So, even though you may be busy with work, you can still be productive.
Speaker 1:All right, because, again, being busy is just filling our schedules with activities and tasks that don't really amount up to nothing. It's just busyness, and when you're busy doing something without a true purpose, then it'll definitely lead to a burnout and a lack of fulfillment, of true fulfillment. So even when you make yourself busy at doing what you love, you can't force that, because if you're doing what you love and you're being busy with what you love, then this means that there is no real purpose. Right? Because as believers I've shared this before that we all have the same purpose. We all have the same purpose is to love God, is to fear God, right, with a reverent fear, not to let them down and to obey his commandments and to allow our lives to be a walking billboard for who he is and what he does and how he transforms us. So you don't ever want to be busy, want to be productive. Why? Because productivity is how you accomplish things that are meaningful, right and align with God's purpose for our lives. That's why I say everything, only what you do for Christ is gonna last, you know.
Speaker 1:So, in being in production, how, being in the film business and making movies and being a storyteller, how can I really be, you know, productive with that? Well, because there's my opportunity to not only do what I love but to fulfill my overall God-given purpose that we all have, which is to reach souls, which is to reach the lost, which is to minister. And so if I can tell a story that can reach somebody and touch somebody's heart, it may not be the thing that changes them, because we know that it's the word that has to do the changing, it's the word that does the work. Like we have to step out of the way and allow ourselves to just be the vessel that he wants to use so that our purpose can be fulfilled, which is his word, and what he wants to be done, to be done right. So you know again, productivity helps us to accomplish meaningful tasks.
Speaker 1:So when we're busy, we have to stop and check ourselves. Wait, wait a minute, wait a minute. Why am I doing all this running, why am I running, like what they say? My dad used to say this all the time running around, running, running around like a chicken with his head cut off. Why, why, why am I doing all this busy, allowing me the space to be productive? Right, how, how, ask yourself. How am I being productive every day of my life?
Speaker 1:And so, like I said, I've been guilty of this by, you know, allowing myself to oversleep and I beat myself up so much about it because I know I don't have to. And you may say, okay, well, you can't help it. If you're obviously, yes, I can, I can go to bed early, I can go to bed earlier so that I can wake up earlier. Right, it's on me, it's on me I'm no different than anybody else that I preach this to, so I'm willing to make the changes that I need to make so that I can do better. Right, because this leads me to our scripture, one of the scriptures that I want to give you.
Speaker 1:You know, um, and that's that's, that's, that's Proverbs, chapter 10, verse four and five. It says this it it says poor is he who works with the negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully. Did you get what Proverbs just broke down to you? And this has got to be Solomon. Solomon was the wisest man, wisest king that ever lived, the son of David. Right, I'm going to say that again. He says poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully. It's a shame for you to sleep during the harvest. The harvest is the time to gather. It's the time to gather y'all. It's the time to pick up everything that has grown from what was sown. But if you sleep, you're missing it. If somebody's going to come and take it, you're going to miss your opportunity.
Speaker 1:Go back to the first part of that verse. I believe it's verse four. Poor is he who works with the negligent hand, who's lazy, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. See, this is a universal law, this is a universal principle. This is why I often say there's no real need to pray for finances. The Father already knows what we need and there are moments where we could pray that the Lord works something out for us. There's nothing wrong with that, but there's no need to pray for wealth, why? Because it says the hand of the diligent, the one who is careful, the one who is careful in how they work and careful how they step to their, their, their work and how they work, and and aware of the, the importance of showing up and being on time and keeping their word and having integrity and living the life of, of I don't want to say a hustler, but, for the lack of better words right now is a hustler like living life, like a true hustler, like to wake up at the, at the, at the crack of dawn, and to get, to get to work, to do what it is that? It is that that that has to be done. That diligent hand makes rich. It makes rich it. It creates wealth.
Speaker 1:Bill Gates and all of these people, the Elon Musks of the world, the Mark Zuckerbergs, as worldly or as secular as they are I'm using them as an example to show you how they did not waste time. They made the most of their time, they did not stay busy, they stayed productive. Steve Jobs and the Macintosh or the Apple computer. He did not stay busy, he stayed productive. If my productivity, if my productivity, my productivity, is what labels me as a busy man, then I'll be that kind of busy, but I won't be busy at the expense of just wasting time. Won't let productivity go out the door at the expense of trying to be busy and appear busy and look like I got stuff going on and look important for the gram, look important for Facebook photos and posts and stories and reels. I don't want to just look the part, I want to be that. And so when we're in Christ, it's the same thing. That's why it always leads us back to the word of God and a Christ-like life, because we want to be uh, we want to be uh, um, uh, be producing much fruit as we abide in him.
Speaker 1:And scripture even tells us about, you know, even wasting time Like you don't. You don't. You don't Like you don't need to waste time, you can't waste time. You got to make most of it right. Even in Colossians, chapter 4, verse 5, says conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders right. And that's obviously. You know, in the world of whatever it is that we do, whatever industry we're in, whatever business we have, we're not just servicing believers, are we? No, we're servicing the world. We offer. We have a product for the world, the saved and the unsaved and so we have to be careful in how we conduct ourselves. And watch this, watch the second part of this verse. He says making the most of the opportunity. Making the most of the opportunity why? Because, again, there's that purpose. That purpose is the underlying detail of my productivity, and I cannot truly understand carry out my purpose if I'm being busy.
Speaker 1:Psalms 90, psalm 90 and 12 says so teach us to number our days that we may present to you a heart of wisdom. It means I'm being mindful of not just the number, like literally the number of my days, but I'm being. I believe that this is a call to really think about everything you're doing, along with what Peter says in almost every chapter of one of the two letters that he writes is that be diligent, right, be, be diligent, that is. That is a common theme that we see with peter is that he's constantly saying be diligent, be careful, be, be mindful of how you walk. And so the, the writer of the psalm, psalm uh 90, the division, the 90th division of psalm the 12th, says so teach us to number our days that we may present to you a heart of wisdom. The only way that I can have a heart of wisdom is that I'm being mindful of each and every day, because the day is not promised. Y'all the days are not, are not promised, and so I'll end with this right here.
Speaker 1:Ephesians, chapter 5, verse 15 and 16, says therefore be careful how you walk. There it is again. This is Paul. He says be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, your time, because the days are evil. Come on, the days are evil. You have to make the most of your time because the days are evil. All right, so stop wasting time. Don't waste no more time. Don't waste no more time. Don't waste no more time. Tomorrow's not even promised. That's why it's another reason why you can't afford to waste time because tomorrow is not promised.
Speaker 1:You don't know If you're listening to this episode right now. You're or you're watching, whatever. Whatever you're, however, you're consuming this episode. Thank God that you're able to listen to it, because this means that you were given another chance, another day, to fulfill his purpose that we all share, that is, to spread the gospel and to be a walking billboard. So I want to encourage you to not waste time. If you have a business in your heart, if you have a business in your mind, listen, either put up or shut up, like one of the last episodes. Right, put up or shut up. Stop talking about it and do it. Don't waste time talking. Be a doer. There's a lot of scripture that I believe it's James that talks about that. Don't be a hearer only, but be a doer of the word. Be a doer of the word, all right. So God bless everybody that is listening.
Speaker 1:This has been another episode of the Soul Fuel podcast. I hope I get to see you next time. Listen, go ahead. Leave a comment down below. Leave a review. It says send us a text message. I want to know how you're enjoying these episodes. I hear from a lot of you. You're saying that you're loving it, and so you know. All glory be to God. Um, god is good and uh, that's it. Until next time, make sure you stay fueled up and if you're running out of fuel, come back and we'll fill you up again. Actually, just open up your Bible and that'll fill you up again. All right, pastor Will signing out Peace.
