Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit” whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that. James 4:13-15
I owe a debt of gratitude to our dear sister, Lois Durham, for inspiring this article. She shared with me some sage advice which her father gave to her and her siblings, and I believe it is good for us all to ponder. The gist of his teaching was that the only true possession we have in this life (apart from our own souls) is time. He further pointed out that this is the only thing we can give someone which we can never replace. We can find more money, food, clothes, homes, etc. but time is non-replenishable. When it is gone, it is gone for good, making it the most precious commodity in our lives. His aim was for them to carefully consider the value of the time God gives them and how they ought to spend it. This advice is deeply rooted in biblical principles and worthy of our full embrace. Consider some critical principles about our use of God’s gift of time in our lives.
First, like any commodity, our valuation of time is affected by our understanding of how much is available to us. Though various factors may contribute to the exact length of our lives, we all know we are marching towards the time of our departure from earth (Hebrews 9:27). Furthermore, no matter how old we may live to be, it is a short time. The passage above from James 4:13-15 is one of a host of biblical passages in this vein. Job repeatedly talked of the brevity of life while going through his intense sufferings (Job 7:6-7; 9:25-26; 14:1-2). Various psalms likewise highlight this truth and how to approach life in view of its limited timeframe (Psalms 39:4-5; 89:47; 90:10). For this, we must avoid the folly of assuming we will have time to do what we are created to do (Proverbs 6:6-8).
Second, knowing how limited our time is, we must not waste it. If we knew we only had a little bit of food, water, oxygen, etc. left, we would do everything in our power to conserve it. Knowing we have a limited and nonrenewable supply of time, we must use it wisely. Paul highlighted this point with the phrase “redeeming the time” (Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5). The term literally means to buy something back (cf. Galatians 3:13; 4:5), but of course our time is spent once and for all. So, how should we understand his meaning here? The English Standard Version says, “…making the best use of the time,” which seems to capture the essence of this term well. In both contexts above, Paul is discussing the need to be about the business of drawing faithfully nearer to the Lord day-by-day.
Third, knowing the value of the time the Lord gives us should promote a sense of gratitude each day we are blessed to live again. “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalms 118:24). We are called to give thanks to God “…always for all things…” (Ephesians 5:19) and “…in everything” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). What better place to start than in giving thanks for the newly minted day He gives us each time He blesses us to awaken and live again? How have you been spending your most precious commodity?