Time it seems has become a scarce commodity. Really, I do not know anybody that tells me today that they have way too much time on their hands. It seems that almost everybody is stressed about trying to get the things done that they need to get done. Even with all the advanced technology that we have, that was brought to us to make our lives easier and more efficient, it seems that most people today have their calendars full and lack the time to keep up with all of their responsibilities. I can look back at growing up in the 80’s and life sure was very different back then. What is interesting is that with time, we really do not know how much we will have in our personal lifespan but yet, we are so willing to waste so much of it without giving it another thought.
Lord, let me know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: let me know how long I have to live. Behold, thou hast made my days as an hand breadth, and mine age as nothing in respect of thee ,…. Psalm 39:4-5 (GNV)
King David here makes some great observations. Our life is actually really short when we compare it to history. What are 70, 80, 90 years in comparison to all of human history. It really falls on us to use the time that we have wisely and make the most of it. As anyone a little older will tell you, life just seems to fly by. So why is it then that today we seem to have so little time. Do we actually have less time than before or has our use of time changed? Here is something that I found in a study about the use of our free time:
Here we see how the use of free time changed during the past one hundred years. You will see that in 1930 a person, not counting working hours and sleep, spent 63% of their time divided between family, friends, neighbors and church. It shows us a life that was connected to people in all forms of activities and aspects of life. When we compare that to the use of time in 2024 we see that all of this time spent before on personal connections is now used to connect also but to connect to the internet (60.76%). Spending actual time with family, friends, neighbors and church is down to a combined 21.78%. We can understand from this simply that our time spent with physical direct contact has decreased by almost 40%, but then we have added 60% of time use by spending it online.
How does this change impact us personally and how does this impact society in general? Time, if you think about it, is really a precious commodity that we cannot influence or change. It is something that science tells us is just there as a measure so that events can be ordered from the past through the present into the future. But time is much more than that. Time intertwines the understanding of our existence with the perception of our reality. Time keeps moving forward and with it comes the question: What are we to do with the time that we have? Should we continue to aimlessly burn time away scrolling for hours each day on our favorite social media apps?
What we forget in all of this is the purpose of our lives. It is easy to forget that we are here on this earth with a special calling that God has given to us!
The concept of time as taught in the Bible is that time is not just a neutral sequence of moments, but that time is charged with divine purpose, opportunity and meaning. The Bible looks at time as a combination of historical, prophetic and theological elements. Within that description of time falls our personal life. We play a role in this timeline through the will of God because we were given a holy purpose, a calling that will contribute to God’s eternal plan.
When we sit at home and pick up that smart phone, computer or turn on the television, we should consider looking at our watch and see the second hand move forward. Every day we witness the procession of time. Daylight comes, then night time and this process repeats itself over and over again. This might give us the impression that we have plenty of time to use as we please and even waste if we don’t feel like doing anything. But, if we continue to look at time as simply a random sequence of events, we will never be motivated to make good us of it. Looking at time from a biblical perspective will bring to our hearts the understanding that there is a purpose for our lives and that time is purposefully given to us, so that we might organize and advance in the plan that God has for us. We are given a specific moment in time, in human history, to contribute and do our part in this wonderful and marvelous plan. Let’s not waste precious time and begin to move in the calling and purpose of our heavenly father.
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us through Christ Jesus before the world was,…. 2 Timothy 1:9 (GNV)
PS: To find out more about your personal calling, check out my new book “The Illusion of Choice”, now available on Amazon, iBook and Barnes & Noble in paperback or e-book. Within it you will find two chapters that deal exclusively with the important truth of the calling of God for our lives.
Wonderfully said, Ps Andreas ! We need to spend less time on useless pursuits and more time with God, family and friends. This must be a conscious effort, or we will default to the internet !
¡Amen! ¡Amen!
¡To God be the glory!
Heavenly Father continue to bless you and use you greatly.