Ecclesiastes: Are You Sitting Uncomfortably?Sýnishorn

What time is it?

How does your calendar look this week?

If it’s anything like mine, it’s crammed to bursting. Just the way I like it. I am the master of my to-do list, the time lord of my galaxy patch.

And then I spot the deadline I’d put off. I start to get emails quicker than I can clear them. I’ve got that meeting that I could really do without. I’m sweating serotonin by lunchtime. Am I going to have enough time for it all?

No, says the Teacher. You will never have enough time. Because time is not something you have. This is a difficult truth for those of us who swim in hyper-productivity cultures. Time-management books from productivity gurus preach that we can master our schedules and craft the life we want to live – if only we can get our time under control.

I lap that stuff up. I want to believe that I am on top of my life, that I really can do it all, be everywhere, and never need to say ‘no’ to anyone. This inevitably gives rise to a kind of anxiety I can’t seem to time-manage my way out of.

In contrast to the productivity gurus, the Teacher’s invitation is this: reframe your relationship to time entirely. Instead of managing it, learn to listen to time. And see if you can hear God’s voice in it.

So, look at your calendar again. Do you see a tool through which to exert your mastery upon the world? Or might you see opportunities to respond to the needs of the place where God has put you?

If it’s time to plant, we might need to dig deep and work hard. If it’s time to mourn, we might need to mourn with those who are mourning over lost loved ones or lost employments. If it’s time to be silent, we might need to listen to those who need to know they have been heard.

Of course, knowing what time it is and yielding to it correctly requires wisdom that only God can grant. But, as James tells us, we only need to ask for it. If I can do that, I might learn to live in time rather than over it. To see interruptions on my calendar not as irritations but as invitations. And to model a relationship to time that makes my neighbours curious.

What time is it for you and the people around you this week?

Action

How would you describe your relationship to time, and how might the Teacher’s approach be a challenge or opportunity for you?