Time: The Rarest Commodity on Earth

By Danny Saavedra

“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”—James 4:14 (NIV)

Here's a riddle for you:

This thing all things devours;
birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
gnaws iron, bites steel;
grinds hard stones to meal;
slays king, ruins town,
and beats mountain down.

The answer: TIME

That riddle from The Hobbit eloquently describes the reality of time. There are very few things in this world as precious as time. Think about it: You only get one chance at every second. Once it’s gone, you can’t get it back. There’s no rewind button on life. There’s not even a pause button! It just keeps going and going . . . until it doesn’t.

Time is so unique, so vastly different from other resources in this world. It’s one of our most important and valuable gifts, but it’s also the easiest to waste. In general, people waste a lot of time. According to a recent study, 87% of students procrastinate on school assignments, 95% of adults procrastinate on work and home tasks, and more than 20% of people are considered chronic procrastinators.

Another study concluded that the average American spends their 24-hour day like this:

·About 4.5 hours on their phone with just over 2.5 of those hours on social media

·Almost three hours watching TV

·295 minutes are spent working

·Less than 420 minutes sleeping (less than the recommended 8 hours)

·Around 68 minutes eating

·Close to 45 minutes in the bathroom

Despite the amount of time spent on activities like social media and watching TV, 48% of Americans say they don’t have enough time. That number is substantially higher among working Americans and people with children under 18.

Here’s why this topic is so important: God has given each of us a set amount of time. We can do nothing to add to it or earn more of it. While we can always earn more money, we can’t buy more time. So, what should we do about this? As believers, we should commit to making the best use of our time (Ephesians 5:16). We should ask the Lord to “teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12 ESV). Consider yourself a steward of the precious time God has given you—a time manager if you will.

The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14–30) is a great reminder of what it means to be a steward. In this powerful story, three servants are given talents—or units of money. The master gives one servant five talents, another two, and the last is given one. The first two take what their master gave them, work hard, and multiply the talents. They’re rewarded and reap the benefits of their honorable and productive stewardship. But the third servant does nothing with his talent, and so it’s taken away from him. In fact, the master calls him wicked and lazy for this (Matthew 25:26 NIV).

The lesson here is clear: Make the most of what you’ve been given! Remember, this life is but a mist that’s here and then gone, and it can truly end at any moment. We don’t get to decide that, so as another famous quote from Tolkien’s Middle Earth saga, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, says, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” When you steward the time that’s been given to you wisely, making yourself available to the Lord to accomplish His good and perfect purposes in, through, and around you, you’ll reap the rewards. When you don’t, you’ll miss out big time.

Pause: Ponder these questions today: “What am I doing with the time given to me? Am I being faithful or wasteful?” Remember, we can’t be generous with our time if we aren’t managing our time.

Practice: Time management is not only an extremely valuable life skill that can help you lead a balanced and healthy life, but it’s also biblical. Take an inventory of your time and evaluate how you’re doing. Consider filling out a time management sheet. There are some great tools online to help you with this!

Pray: Father, teach me to number my years, my days, my hours, my minutes, and my seconds so I may gain a heart of wisdom . . . so I may live in a manner worthy of the gospel, make the most of every opportunity, and be about Your business. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.