I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but two of the 52 weeks of 2023 are already gone. It’s true what the psalmist says, that our lives are like reading a bedtime book to children. I can hear my grandkids saying, “Read it again, Papa.” But our story is told only once.
In a psalm about life’s brevity, Moses penned this prayer request 3,500 years ago: “Teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” (Ps 90:12) Paul adds, “Be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.” (Eph 5:15, NLT)
So let’s be wise and do some calculations. Moses says the average lifespan is about 70 years (today the World Health Organization puts it at little more than 72), but let’s suppose you’re 60. If you sleep 8 hours a night, that means you’ve been unconscious, making rude noises, for 20 solid years!
Work a 9-to-5? Forget the commute time; that’s about 80,000 hours, or another 10 full years of your life. Eating? If you spend just two hours in food prep and consumption each day, you spend one-twelfth of your life doing just that—one full month out of every year munching. In 60 years, that’s five years of 24-hour days.
When it’s all calculated, you end up with about two years spread over the 60 either for serving God or for harmless pleasures. And that’s the harm in harmless pleasures. Thoreau warned, “As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.”
Not that God is against relaxation. One day in seven for rest was His idea. But frenetic thrill-seeking and mindless entertainment are hardly what He had in mind.
Speaking of applying our hearts to wisdom, it’s a real possibility to be wise for time but a fool forever. In fact, James explains there are two very different kinds of wisdom:
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” (Jas 3:13-17)
Earthly wisdom sets a trap for our own feet! The sharp-teethed upper jaw is envy, the resentment we feel against others who have what we crave. The cruel lower jaw is self-seeking, where our days are filled with scrounging for things that never satisfy. It’s just pre-dust.
How refreshing, on the other hand, to meet those who study in Jesus’ school. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,” He said, “for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Mt 11:29) He’s the only one who lived every moment to the max. Wouldn’t it be great if we entrusted Him with our whole life, and then enjoyed the year marked by grace, mercy, and peace?
So thanks for your time, but I’ve got to go. The clock’s ticking.
Article by Jabe Nicholson first published in the Commercial Dispatch, Sunday, January 15, 2023