The Spiritual Discipline of Being On Time

Anything can be a spiritual discipline when you see it through spiritual eyes. -Pastor Greg

There are a lot of practical reasons to be on time.

• Being on time shows you value other’s time.

• Consistent punctuality builds trust and reliability.

• Being late is one of the top reasons people get fired.

• Being late always costs you something—time, money, respect, peace of mind.

If there is such a plethora of reasons why we should be on time, then why is it hard for us to do it?

Yes, there are rare emergencies and unexpected circumstances. But there’s also selfishness, laziness, and poor planning.

But what if you could escape these traps of tardiness and reframe the act of being on time as a spiritual discipline?

Some argue that spiritual disciples are limited to those explicitly found in Scripture and practiced by the Church through history. (See this article on the Desiring God website for this perspective. )

However, I like to think that anything can be a spiritual disciple when you see it through spiritual eyes. Even something as simple as being on time.

Here are three spiritual reasons why you should be on time to your next meeting, family event, or church function.

1. Being on time loves others

One of the greatest responsibilities of the Christian is to love others (Matt. 22:39, cf. Lev. 19:18). And the Apostle Paul says that is you don’t get this one right, nothing else you do really matters (1 Cor. 13:1-3).

One way you can love others is to be on time. It communicates to another person that you respect and care about them by not wasting their time. You are also acknowledging that their time is valuable because they are valuable.

In contrast, being late is fundamentally un-loving. It’s disrespectful, indirectly communicating that you don’t respect the other person’s time. It’s also deceitful. How many times have you made the excuse, “I know I said I’d be there at 9am, but…” (More on that in #3.)

Aditionally, it’s usually more than one person you are not loving. Being late has a domino effect, impacting multiple people throughout the day. In contrast, when you arrive on time for one event, you could be showing love a dozen people across a whole day.

2. Being on time values others above yourself

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” (Phil 2:2-3)

When you are late, you say to others “My time is more important than yours,” and consequently, “I am more important than you.”

Imagine walking into a meeting, date, or band rehearsal ten minutes late and the first words out of your mouth are “I’m more important than you.” That’s what you say to others when you’re late.

But Jesus has called us to follow his example, live with humility, and prioritize the needs and interests of others. Even when it comes to an extra ten minutes.

3. Being on time lets your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’

When Jesus talked about making (and keeping) promises, he said you don’t need to swear on the Bible, shake on it, or even cross your heart, hope to die, stick a needle in your eye. Instead, “All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Matt. 5:37, NIV). Some older translations use the classic phrase, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’

When you’re late, you’re letting your ‘Yes’ become ‘No’ by allowing your 2:00pm to become 2:15pm. You’re letting your “I’ll be there (on-time)” become “I’ll be there late.”

We all desire to be trusted by others and often get offended when people don’t trust us. And yet, we often don’t think twice about doing small things, like being late, to undermine our own trustworthiness and dependability.

Jesus wants us to live authentic lives where our words match our heart and vice versa. What does this type of life of integrity look like? Show up when you said you would, where you said you would, ready to do what you’d said you’d do.

What about legitimate reasons for being late?

Yes, there will always be real, unavoidable reasons why you end up late to something—a diaper explosion, lost car keys, an actual family emergency. But those should be the exception, not the norm.

If you’re honest with yourself, I bet most of the times you’ve been late in the last month could have been avoided by a very small actions—not hitting the snooze button in the morning, reducing the mindless scroll on your phone, leaving the house 10 minutes earlier, or scheduling your day better. Actions like these are likely to eliminate 90% of tardiness.

When you’re consistently on time and then text your boss the one time something unavoidable happens, they are much more likely to graciously understand because you’ve proven yourself to be a reliable, punctual person.

What’s Your Next Step?

It’s time to turn being on time into a spiritual disciple.

• Love others. Value their time; value them.

• Value others above yourself. Make their time more important than yours.

• Let your “Yes” be “Yes. Be where you said you’d be when you said you’d be there.