Buying Time
Time is a currency. Each and every day twenty-four hours is given to everyone in the world. No more and no less. No one can steal it from you, as it is an unstealable commodity. Someone might waste your time, but regardless, each day your bank of time is filled with 24-hours. Time is blind to wealth or power and is given in the same proportion. Time is our most valuable commodity, yet it is disrespected and undervalued in all societies. Unfortunately, most people of the world exchange the bulk of their time for the purpose of building wealth. The strategy behind this, is that one day, when a person gets enough wealth, there will be freedom from work and enough time do what they really want. So, in essence, they are spending time to buy time. This is a flawed equation and a zero sum game played against yourself. Even if you do manage to accumulate a mass amount of wealth you will have still spent a lot of time to get there, and more often than not, you’ll have exchanged the prime years of your life. This is not to say you should abandon working for money, but instead, you need to examine what you are exchanging for your time. If you don’t know what your end goal is, then you need to stop and recalibrate. No amount of wealth will bring back lost years. Value your days and decide what you are living for.
“So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” — Psalm 90:12
Run on the Bank: People rarely value time until they are out of it. Moreover, people become so consumed with the competition of gaining wealth that they neglect their relationship with God only to find they are very poor in the eternal things. Jesus warns of such scenarios by telling this parable:
“Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” — Luke 12:15–21
The lesson is — time on this earth will end for each and every person, so make sure you have budgeted your time correctly, for you will give an account of how you spent your days. Everything you currently have in life is what you were willing to exchange for your time. Now is a good moment to take a hard look at your time budgeting and get it back on track if it’s flawed.
Being Consistent: Often times people will say, “I live each day as if it is my last.” That sounds nice, but it’s not really believable. If a person did live each day as if it were their last they’d be rushing from house to house to share the gospel and not caring what anyone thought about them. They wouldn’t give a second thought about their clothes or how they look because tomorrow wouldn’t exist. The reality is — valuing time doesn’t need to be an extreme endeavour like the world is ending tomorrow. You can budget your days, consistently, to build a future that is more fulfilling and rich towards God. This starts by knowing what you are actually striving for. Paul likens his mission and Christian life to a race.
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” — 1 Corinthians 9:24–27
The key is to know what you are running for and being consistent to achieve it. When you know the goal, you will be more motivated in your race and shape your life to perform at a high level.
Buying Time: Since time is much more valuable than money we should be looking to spend it as wisely as possible. When people say they don’t have enough time, it means they are unwilling to change their time-budgeting. For them, life will stay in the same cycle and never change. Now, if you are thinking about changing your time allocation, you need to realize the world is very resistant to people who spend their time on a purpose that is different than the societal norms. More often than not, when you spend your time on things that are not what the world expects of you, it will evoke a response like, “You’re going to do what?!” and followed up with common discouraging lines like, “I hope you know what you are doing.” “That sounds risky.” “How will you ever pay for that?” “Have you really prayed about it?” et cetra, et cetra. It will be a lonely road at times, but as the days pass and your time investment starts to pay dividends, many who once scorned you, will now seek wisdom from you. Stand strong and keep faith. Remember, time is the equal currency we are all given. Tomorrow is the beginning of the rest of your life. Spend it wisely.
