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bits from bob....

Just Thinking...About Time

by Bob Young
[permission is given to reprint with credit noted]

How do you measure time? Perhaps a better question: how do you think about time? It is just seconds and minutes and hours and days and years? I believe we measure time much as we do money. Money is more than dollars and cents, or a balance in an account. The question is not dollars and cents-or days and years. The questions are much more significant.

Here are some pertinent questions to help us measure time (and money). How do we invest it? What do we have to show for it when it is spent? What is the best use of it? Have we served the common good or only our own? Was it spent wisely or foolishly? Did we spend it with the future in view, or only the present? Your accounting ledger says a lot about you and your priorities. Your calendar also says a lot about you and your priorities. What if we had to give an account for all of the time God gives us? (The Bible seems to suggest that we do!)

Our human tendency is to spend our money and our time on things that make us feel good in the present moment. Certainly there is nothing wrong with meeting basic needs-but what if our expenditures of time and money go beyond that? What if we are wasting what we have? What if we are misusing God's gifts, failing to fulfill God's purpose through the resources he provides?

Some would seek to redistribute money and resources, but the redistribution nearly always bypasses some of those who have the greatest needs. Redistribution of time is not possible. You cannot use someone else's time. You can try to get it, or even demand it, but ultimately each person controls his use of time. You can only use your own time-and you can choose to use your time for the benefit of others.

Especially in the U.S. we live in a culture that tends to squander resources as though they are limitless. Recent economic stresses have caused some to be more thoughtful concerning monetary resources. Would that we were as sensitive to the fact that our time is not limitless! How do you think about time? How do you use your time? The last 24 hours is a fair indication. What you will do today also answers the question. How much of what you are doing matters?


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Last updated March 6, 2011