March 27, 2019

One of the marks of maturity is that we make better use of our time. We learn skills that allow us to accomplish a task in less time than when we first attempted it. A journeyman in the trades watches an apprentice fumble their way through a project that takes them several times longer than it will after they master it. It is not a waste of time, but the process does need to improve over time.

Children could be considered to be wasting time when they play rather than learn a skill. But they are supposed to play because it is the way they become creative and learn to get along with others. They are making use of time in a way that is appropriate to where they are in life.

What can be frustrating to observe is someone who should be further along in their journey to maturity but are taking too long to accomplish something – maybe even playing when they should be working. They need to consider that one day they might regret time wasted that could have been devoted to accomplishing a desired goal.

Each person is allotted a certain number of days, but none of us is given that number. When we are young, it seems like we have plenty time, so we might feel little need to make the most of every day. As we get older, we know that we are “burning daylight,” as John Wayne used to say. If we have goals that we want to accomplish, we had better put effort into them while we can.

Psalm 90 gives perspective on this subject of making good use of what Creator God gives to us. Verse 12 says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom.” Perhaps in a sense we do know the number of our days – not the total but the one we have. It could be our last one on Planet Earth, so we should make the most of it for God’s honor. In that context, we have no time to waste.

Pastor Bill Ehmann