Time Is Sacred

Ephesians 5: 15-17; Colossians 4:5

It was a tradition for the faculty of a southern seminary to meet together every morning before their 8 am classes for a time of Bible study and prayer. These sessions were scheduled to conclude by 7:55 at the latest, in order for everyone to be on time for their classes.

It happened one morning, however, that one of the professors became caught up in his closing prayer and overshot the 7:55 deadline. Nor did he even miss a beat by 8:00 when the chapel bells rang to mark the hour. His colleagues realized that they were already late for their classes as he prayed fervently on, concluding a few minutes after 8:00. This was a one-time occurrence and not a regular problem--and it was only a matter of a few minutes--but still, it wasn’t supposed to happen. The other faculty left that morning with a collective case of elevated blood pressure, annoyed and embarrassed that they would have to walk into their classes late.

Had their colleague become so engrossed in his prayer that even the chapel bells didn’t register? Or did he simply care more about the need to pray that day than he did about being a few minutes late for class? So what if they were all a little late that morning? Is the seminary there primarily to hold punctual classes? Is that a higher priority than the power of fervent prayer? I would like to think that the other faculty members considered those questions afterwards, and were willing to accept that this might have been a case of the Spirit overruling the seminary’s schedule that morning and reminding them of what really matters most.

We as Christians march to the beat of a different drummer, and that’s also true in how we relate to the spiritual dimension of time. The Bible speaks to this important truth:

As we read in the Book of Ephesians, “Be very careful how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, for the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” (Eph. 5:15-17). And again, in Colossians, “Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Col. 4:5-6). The common theme here is to value the wise use of time and to respect its sacred potential. To “redeem the time” means to make the most of life’s spiritual opportunities.

“Be very careful then, how you live--not as unwise, but as wise… Don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” “Make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” It’s important that we have a spiritual awareness and sense of responsibility to use time wisely, to redeem its potential for good, because, as Paul writes, “the days are evil.” Do you believe that? Do we understand that we live in the midst of a fallen, lost and broken world? God calls us to see the darkness for what it is: Satan’s attempt to destroy our lives and wreck our souls. But we’re part of God’s work to heal and restore the world to its intended wholeness, and that includes living wisely by making good use of the time we’re given.

There are two different Greek words used in the New Testament for ‘time.’ One is ‘chronos,' which refers to ‘chronological’ time, as measured by minutes and hours and days. This is the only way most people regard time, in strictly functional terms, ordered by clocks and calendars.

You can buy a watch that’s synchronized with the Atomic Clock in Boulder, CO, and keeps time to within a billionth of a second, accurate to under a second over a twenty million-year period. (Not that anyone would ever be able to verify that claim!) That’s an extreme example, but most of us in our culture are essentially slaves to chronological time, and it can become an oppressive factor in our lives if we aren’t careful. Our alarm clocks and busy schedules and fast food culture can rob life of its peace and joy. As one African told a missionary, “You westerners have all the watches, but we have all the time.” By seeing time only in a single dimension, without sufficient regard for its spiritual side, we not only experience stress and related health problems, but a generally diminished quality of life.

An expedition in Africa hired a team of native porters to help transport their gear. The expedition’s leaders pushed the group to keep moving as briskly as possible, and they were pleased at the end of the first day to see how much ground they’d covered. But the next morning, expecting to make an early start and continue their fast pace, they realized the porters were in no rush to begin, talking and laughing among themselves. When the expedition leader asked the reason for their attitude, the porter in charge explained simply, “We’re waiting for our souls to catch up with our bodies.” The porters possessed a wisdom the expeditionaries lacked, and it revealed a cultural blind spot.