The Most Finite Resource

I know you have heard it…I have heard it…everyone is talking about it. We hear it on the news, on our social media and a few of us may have said it. The President has referenced it. Memes have been made about it. And professional athletes are tik-toking about it.

What am I talking about? The “myth” that we have more time now than we had before this pandemic started. This idea that all of a sudden we have more time in a day. But this is simply not true. There are still only 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute.

However, I would agree that there has been a significant change. We do not have more time we just have fewer choices. Did we have time to go on hikes with the family before the pandemic? We did but we chose ballet lessons instead. Did we have time to linger around the dinner table before the shelter in place order? We did but we chose tennis practice instead. Did we have time to work on a jigsaw puzzle prior to the postponing of MLB’s opening day?  We did but instead chose binge watching the Andy Griffith show.

Please don’t get me wrong, I’m all for ballet lessons, tennis practice, baseball and the other myriad of things that filled our calendars prior to March 15th. But I do want you not to buy into the myth that once this pandemic is over is life goes back to “normal” we will have less time. We will have exactly the same amount of time each day. We will just be bombarded with more opportunities to spend that time.

You see time is not something we can save up and use in the future. Time is the most precious commodity we own but it is a finite commodity and it is not reusable or renewable. Once it is spent it is gone. Never to be reclaimed or returned.

In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, he says something that I find very interesting. “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Paul is encouraging us through this ancient letter to be circumspect…to be wise…to be mindful of how we use our time. Why? Because we live in evil times. How much more is that true today than in the 1st century when Paul wrote this letter?

In Jen Wilkin’s book, None Like Him, she says, “Redeeming the time requires being fully present in the present. We can squander today by feeding two different sins: laziness and busyness.”

She goes on to describe laziness as one who thinks she has all the time in the world to accomplish what is on her plate. Meanwhile, the uber busyness person believes that there is not enough time in the day to get it all done. Both are misaligned. 

We need to find the balance between doing what God has called us to do in the time frame He has given us and practicing the Sabbath and stillness. In the worksheet for this week, you will take the time to look over the past 90 days and see what you want to keep doing, what you need to start doing and what you need to stop. This will be the first steps needed in redeeming your time.