You’re On the Clock

Thanks to all my readers who invest their time each week reading my articles. I have written a book containing one hundred of my early newspaper articles entitled, The Five-Minute Miracle. The outcome that I’m looking for in my book and these weekly articles is to say a lot in a little. I’m hoping the five minutes you invest in reading these articles will be an inspirational ‘cup of coffee’ or refreshment each week that inspires you and equips you for real life.

To be honest, I’m hoping for more than inspiration. I'm hoping God will use me to write something that will improve your life, perhaps even be a miracle or an ‘Aha' that uplifts your life. That's why we call my book The Five-Minute Miracle.  

Our subject today is about time and, hopefully, on time for you. Let's start with some whimsy. It’s called Everything You Need to Know about Life in Three Minutes. I’ll add another two minutes at the end.  

On the very first day, God created the cow. He said to the cow, "Today I have created you! As a cow, you must go to the field with the farmer all day long. You will work all day under the sun! I will give you a life span of 50 years." The cow objected, "What? This kind of tough life you want me to live for 50 years? Let me have 20 years, and the 30 years I'll give back to you." So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the dog. God said to the dog, "What you are supposed to do is to sit all day by the door of your house. Any people that come in, you will have to bark at them! I'll give a life span of 20 years." The dog objected, "What? All day long to sit by the door? No way! I give you back my other 10 years of life!" So God agreed.

On the third day, God created the monkey. He said to the monkey, "Monkeys have to entertain people. You've got to make them laugh and do monkey tricks. I'll give you 20 years life span." The monkey objected. "What? Make them laugh? Do monkey faces and tricks? Ten years will do, and the other 10 years I'll give you back." So God agreed. 

On the fourth day, God created man and said to him, "Your job is to sleep, eat, and play. You will enjoy very much in your life. All you need to do is to enjoy and do nothing. This kind of life, I'll give you a 20-year life span." The man objected. "What? Such a good life! Eat, play, sleep, do nothing? Enjoy the best and you expect me to live only for 20 years? No way, man...why don't we make a deal? Since the cow gave you back 30 years, the dog gave you back 10 years, the monkey gave you back 10 years, I will take them from you! That makes my life span 70 years, right?" So God agreed. 

AND THAT'S WHY...In our first 20 years, we eat, sleep, play, enjoy the best, and do nothing much. For the next 30 years, we work all day long, suffer, and get to support the family. For the next 10 years, we entertain our grandchildren by making monkey faces and monkey tricks. And for the last 10 years, we stay at home, sit by the front door, and bark at people! 

Here is something a bit more serious about investing time meaningfully. An unknown author writes it.      

“To realize the value of four years, ask a graduate. To realize the value of one year, ask a student who failed a grade. To realize the value of one month, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby. To realize the value of one week, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper. Ask the lovers waiting to meet about the value of one hour. To realize the value of one minute, ask a person who just missed an airplane. To realize the value of one second, ask someone who just avoided an accident. To realize the value of one millisecond, ask the person who won a silver medal at the Olympics." 

The takeaway here is to treasure every moment you have on this earth. Spend time with your family and friends. 

Here are some thoughts about time from others for you to consider. Alice Morse Earle says, “The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present.” Art Buchwald says, "Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got." Marty Rubin says, "Time does not pass. It continues." And Harvey MacKay says, "Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it, you can never get it back."

Since we can’t hold time in a bottle, let’s get some wisdom about time. Let’s say you have a rope that is a thousand feet long. The rope represents eternity. God says your life is about one inch of that rope. Your life is a tiny part of a much larger part. So, what we do with our lives now is essential. It determines where we spend eternity. What we do with that one inch is the only time this side of heaven that we can contribute to eternity.

A Psalmist in the Bible describes our days here on earth in this way. “As for the days of our lives, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years. Teach us to number our days, that we may present to Thee (God) a heart of wisdom.” Psalms 90: 10, 12

Our time on earth is important. Use it, but use it wisely. Someone once said, "The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it." 

On your mark, get set, and go to something bigger, better, and more significant. You’re on the clock.