Scripture: Psalm 90:12, Ephesians 5:15-17
Title: Living on borrowed time
Scripture calls us to a radically God-centered perspective on time -- a
perspective shaped by eternal values rather than temporal concerns.
From a God-centered perspective, "making the most of every opportunity"
means:
1. Subordinating our fleshly desires to God's purposes.
2. Focussing on that which is eternal
3. Living with a sense of urgency
Intro: God's perspective on time, and ours.
Turn with me to Psalm 90 -- verses 1-6, then skipping to verse 12.
"Teach us to number our days aright." What does this mean?
Let me try a football illustration. My first football illustration, probably my last.
Carol and I were in Toronto over New Years, visiting Carol's family. Now in three
days in Toronto I watch more sports, hear more about sports and learn more sports
trivia than I would in three years if I stayed at home.
This last week it all climaxed on New Years Day with the Rose Bowl game between Michigan
and Washington State. My brother-in-law Rob is a Michigan fan -- NO that is a gross
understatement. He had arranged to have three different VCR's recording the game -- redundant systems in case one failed. He was pacing nervously for about a half
hour before the game started.
And once the game started we lost him entirel, he was in another world. For those
few hours the only activity that mattered was on the football field. The only time
that mattered was on the game clock. His wife was kind enough to bring him dinner,
but I'm not sure if he noticed what he was eating. It was only after the game was
over -- after the spell was broken -- that he woke up to realize that he had missed
dessert.
For those few hours, Rob and, to be fair, millions of other people, were completely
absorbed into another reality. They might as well have been living another universe
-- a universe in which men dressed up in ridiculous looking suits knock each other
down and move a small, funny shaped ball back and forth on a field. A universe in which
getting that funny-shaped ball to the end of the field is of ultimate importance.
But the most striking thing of all, to me, is that in this alternate universe time
takes on a completely different significance from normal time. The people who are
really absorbed in the game -- certainly the players and coaches, but also many of
the spectators -- are completely oblivious to normal time and normal concerns. Normal watches
or clocks don't mean much to them. The deadlines and concerns that are of real
importance in their ordinary lives are put aside. They are only concerned with
"game time" -- the time on the clock that measures how far along the game is.
So how does this help us to understand what it means to number our days aright? --
In our normal way of viewing time, we are like football spectators -- we are completely
absorbed in the game of life here and now. We act as if this is reality -- this
is all there is.
But its NOT! "Numbering our days aright" means jolting ourselves out of this delusion
-- turning off the TV set, so to speak, or pulling ourselves away from the game and
realizing that what seems so real to us is not real after all.
See this ruler? This is what the span of human history looks like from God's viewpoint.
And our lives that we make so much of -- they are a speck of dust, a bacterium
on the edge of this ruler. From God's perspective all of human history is just a
hiccup in eternity. To "Number our days aright" means to recognize the how miniscule
the scale of our lives is compared with the eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful God.
Kind of a downer. Why is this important? look at Psalm 90 verse 12 again:
Teach us to number our days aright, WHY? that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Now look at another passage: Ephesians 5:15-17
Be careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every
opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand
what the Lord's will is.
The reason it is important to have a God-centered perspective on time is because it
is impossible to live wisely without such a perspective. We cannot make wise decisions,
we cannot "make the most of every opportunity", unless we are viewing time the way God does.
So what I'd like to do for the rest of our time is to think in very practical terms
about how a God-centered perspective on time can help us in the every day task of
ordering our priorities. When you sit down with your calendar or planner -- as
you look ahead to the new year -- what difference does it make to have a God-centered view
of time? My goal is simple: To encourage you to view calendars in a new light --
so that every time you see a calendar you are reminded of God's perspective on time:
So I have this nice new calendar here. And I'm going to ask some very simple questions
about it:
1. First, what do you use to write on your calendar?
Big black magic marker? Indelible Ink? I would suggest you switch to pencil.
Here's why:
If I write down my schedule and appointments in indelible ink on this calendar --
if I lay out my priorities and treat them as sacred, then I leave no room for God
to show me his purposes. So, for example, You have this really important appointment
-- and your car breaks down. Or, you're flying to California for an important business
deal, and your flight is cancelled and you're stuck in the airport. Or you are
just finishing a chapter in your thesis and your computer crashes.
In all of these cases, your purposes have been thwarted -- and if your priorities
are recorded in indelible ink, then you are bound to be angry and frustrated.
But if your calendar is written in pencil -- if you take your own plans and priorities
lightly -- then you can make room for God to redeem what would otherwise be lost
time. Give God editing privileges over your calendar. He has them already, you
know.
Now please don't take me literally about this business of writing in pencil. I really
don't care WHAT you use to write on your calendar. What matters is whether you
are prepared to submit your plans and goals to God -- to subordinating your desires to God's purposes.
What our flesh desires and what God purposes for us are at complete odds with each
other. We go for momentary pleasure -- God wants to give us infinite joy.
So, for example: You may think you are in a completely dead end job -- work seems
meaningless -- you're just a cog in a machine. If your desire is to live the American
dream -- to be rich in money and things -- big house, big car -- then you will be
completely frustrated.
But God has a bigger purpose for you -- he's not concerned to make you rich or comfortable
-- He doesn't want you to be content with things that can never really satisfy.
His purpose is bring you to the place where you find infinite joy, infinite satisfaction, infinite pleasure. And to bring you to that point God may need to strip
away the things that distract you -- the things that pull you away from him.
God does not waste anything, least of all time. There is no dead time, no wasted
time with him. In fact, time is one of God's most important tools. When we think
we are just sitting around doing time, God is working in us, preparing us. Think
of Moses -- 80 years before he was ready for God's service.
You see, God is the ultimate long-range planner. He is not just planning for the
next decade or century -- his business is with things that will last forever. His
purposes are shaped by eternal concerns.
Which leads us to another question about calendars:
2. When you mark up a calendar, how do you distinguish what is most important to
you?
Perhaps you write it in big black letters, like this? Maybe you circle it in red?
Now, what if you were to take your calendar for the next week, and mark in red only
those things that have really lasting value.
Now this could be a discouraging exercise -- There is not much we do that lasts for
long. for example:
-- doing laundry -- lasts 2 or 3 days
-- cleaning my basement -- might be good for a week
-- committee meetings? Now that's really depressing. The meetings last long enough,
but the results?
-- Sermon prep? Surely that's meaningful. A really good sermon might stay fresh
for a day or two.
How about at work -- say you build houses. Now that's doing something that will last,
right? Well, maybe for a couple hundred years, if you do a good job. Or say you're
writing a book. Trust me, even if its really good it will be unread on library
shelves in a few years.
Look around you -- and imagine that we sat here for 500 years. Would there be anything
left? Certainly not these folding chairs. This building almost certainly be rubble.
Our bodies won't be in such good shape either.
But there IS something here that will last -- there are 48 eternal beings in this
room. 48 souls who will live eternally either in unimaginable joy or in the terrible
anguish of separation from God.
So here's the point: If we want our calendars to reflect God's perspective on time,
our priorities have to be focussed on things that are eternal -- and the only eternal
things around us are people.
The people on either side of you, in front and in back of you -- the people you work
with and see at the grocery store -- the people you make fun of and get irritated
at. And the person sitting in your own seat. These are the only things you encounter
that will outlast time.
This has some very clear, practical consequences:
-- first, our calendars should reflect awareness of our own immortality. Many of
you are careful to schedule in care and exercise for your bodies -- and they are
going to be dust in a few years. But your soul -- you have to live with that forever!
Don't cheat your soul of spiritual food and spiritual exercise -- prayer, fasting, personal
Bible Study.
-- second, we should be investing time in the spiritual care and nourishment of people
around us. For people who are far from God that means calling them to repentance
and faith -- missions and evangelism. For people who have come to God it means
challenging them and building them up in their faith.
A God-centered perspective on time means giving priority to that which will last --
Don't store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust corrupt and
where thieves break in and steal -- rather, Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
In 1 Corinthians 7:29, Paul writes:
What I mean brothers is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives
should live as if they had none; those who mourn as if they did not; those who
are happy as if they were not; those who buy something as if it was not theirs to
keep; those who use the things of the world as if not engrossed in them. For this world in
its present form is passing away.
Review:
Write in pencil -- Allow God to control your calendar -- give priority to his purposes
Mark in red that which is of truly lasting value. Give priority to eternal things.
One final way that God's perspective on time can help us to live wisely -- by reminding
us that time is short -- by making us think about deadlines
3. I love deadlines. I couldn't live without them. I mark them with big stars or
boxes on my calendar.
I act differently when we face deadlines. Deadlines help me to focus on what is
important and to throw aside unnecessary distractions. They are a great weapon against
laziness.
I know this because I face a deadline each week. Beginning of the week I blissfully
allow myself to be distracted by anything and everything. Drop into my office early
in the week, I'll have all the time in the world. But not when Friday comes.
As Christians we are called upon to live as if the deadline was upon us -- to live
as if the time is short -- for a very simple reason: because from God's perspective
the time IS short.
You know how, at the end of a football or basketball game, the last two minutes takes
an interminably long time. The players are trying to conserve every second of time.
It's amazing how much they can accomplish in that last two minutes -- its amazing
how many games have been won in those last two minutes.
Making the most of every opportunity means living in that last two minutes of a football
game. It means living with a sense of urgency -- making every minute count for
something that will last.
CONCLUSIONS:
Having a God-centered view of time has direct applications for us both as individuals
and as a church:
As individuals --
If you struggle with impatience -- God is in control of our calendar, not us.
If you struggle with materialism -- a God-centered view of time will remind you that
the things that engross you will not last.
If you struggle with Laziness -- be reminded that the time is short.
And as you plan for the next year, remember -- like anything else, your calendar or
day-timer can be either a means of worshipping God or a focus of idolatry. With
it you can either worship God by giving your time over to him, or you can turn away
from God by using your time to pursue your own goals and desires.
As a church --
We need to ask ourselves whether we are using our time to build something that will
last. There are all sorts of things we could do that would have no eternal value.
We can dream up programs and activities. We can build buildings.