Articles
Appreciating Time
“I know it and yet I don’t know it,” was the way one person described his mortality. To be sure, we are all, at least, academically aware that our days are finite, but rarely to such a degree that we live in light of this fact. The attitude, especially with young people, is that age and frailty will affect other people more than it does me. We see others aging around us, getting sick, dying, succumbing to a wasted life, but feel the sense of relative immorality that always accompany youth. Yet it is my daily problem to come to grips with my frailty, as Solomon so adroitly encourages his readers in Ecclesiastes 7:1-4.
“Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am” (Psalm 39:4). Other translations have the psalmist asking, “Let me know how frail I am.” While it would never be healthy to literally know the time and circumstance of one’s death, the writer makes a good point about at least keeping a vigilant awareness of his own mortality. “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Notice that having a right attitude about time is something that needs to be taught! We must cultivate an attitude that is appropriate – especially with the help of those who are older and wiser than ourselves.
“As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years…” (Psalm 90:10). Obviously, we cannot avoid “time and chance”, which may overtake even the strongest, swiftest, or smartest of us (Ecclesiastes 9:11-12), but we do have a responsibility to lengthen our days to the best of our ability. If by good choices (nutrition, sleeping habits, adherence to safety, cleanliness) I can prolong my days, then I have facilitated my ongoing usefulness in God’s kingdom (Philippians 1:21-26). The trouble comes when we fail to grasp this truth in our younger years! Every decision we make in youth will have an impact on us as we age. Ask yourself how your habits may prevent you from serving God in the future:
• Will this habit shorten my life expectancy?
• Will this physically-demanding sport slow me down when I want to serve God?
• Will I ever be able to get back these years spent in recklessness?
• What if I lose my life doing something neither necessary nor wise?
• What if I lose my life doing something sinful?
• Would I want to face God with this habit or lifestyle hanging over me?
• Will my wasted years be worth it when I am dying? As an aged individual, would I trade all of my foolishness as a youth for a few more years of quality living?
