During the Desert Storm invasion of Kuwait and Iraq, Col. William Post received an urgent fax from headquarters. The fax was a complaint that 400 cases of jelly were not accounted for in the Colonel’s records. Consequently, he sent a private to find the jelly. But the private couldn’t locate it.

After not receiving a reply from the Colonel’s office, headquarters promptly sent a second fax, one that sounded more urgent than the first. It said the end of the month was approaching and that every effort must be made to either find the jelly or account for it. Colonel Post, having already ordered one attempt to find the jelly, chose to ignore the second fax.

As a result, it wasn’t long before a third fax came, and this one had a tone. It demanded that the Colonel immediately respond to the need to find the jelly – or else. At this point, Colonel Post got mad. In reply, He sent back a fax that read: “Look, I can find the jelly or I can kick Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. Which do you prefer? I can’t do both.”

I ask you, are you wasting too much time on non-essentials? Do you spend a good portion of your days “finding jelly”? If you will do an honest assessment of how you spend your time, you might be surprised to learn how much fluff makes up your day. God, of course, wants us to be good stewards, and that involves stewardship over our time. So, always remember this: Others may be more skilled, talented, or gifted than you, but no one is allotted more time per day than you. Make that time count.