Killing Time?

The other day I was waiting to do something when I received a call from a buddy of mine. He asked, “What are you doing?” I responded, “Not much, just killing time.” After a few minutes, I started to think about that statement Killing Time. It struck me at what a waste that is. I do not mean a little waste. I mean what a huge waste it is. Time is defined as "the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future" according to Wikipedia. Merriam Webster defines time as, "the measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues, or as, a nonspatial continuum that is measured in terms of events which succeed one another from past through present to the future”.

Physicists define time as “the progression of events from the past to the present into the future. Basically, if a system is unchanging, it is timeless. Time can be considered to be the fourth dimension of reality, used to describe events in three-dimensional space.” Oh my gosh, the more I read about it, my head felt like it would explode. I wanted a definition and ended up with, well, I do not know what. Except, it gave me a genuine headache.

In trying to keep it more palatable, I looked at a few poems regarding time.

Henry Van Dyke penned “Time Is”. He gives us a little incite into the impact time has on people in various conditions of life.

“Time is: Too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, Time is not.”

I like it. It has a ring of truth to it. William Shakespeare wrote in his Sonnet 19,

“Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion’s paws, and make the earth devour her own sweet brood; Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger’s jaws, and burn the long-lived phoenix in her brood…”

I had to stop. Memories of English lit classes started to appear in my mind and a few tears formed in the corners of my eyes. They were not tears of sweet memories. They were tears of lectures, reading, tests, and report cards. I had to jump ship. Surely there were other avenues relating to time that would not inflict such agony.

Music! That is the ticket. I know there are good songs about time. You know it too, right?

The Rolling Stones Time is on my side

The Beatles Yesterday

The Chambers Brothers Time Has Come Today

Cher If I Could Turn Back Time

Chicago (best group ever) Does anybody really now what time it is?

Harry Chapin Cats in the Cradle

Otis Redding Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay

Man, these songs bring back some memories of “times past,” pun intended! The song “Fly like an Eagle” by the Steve Miller Band keeps coming to mind. It has lyrics which hit the nail on the head regarding the passing of time. "Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin, into the future." It is not my favorite song, but it rings a note of truth.

I digress!

Ok Steve. Here we go again! What’s your point?

Time is precious. It is fleeting. It is insidious in that it slips by without notice until it is gone. There is a time for everything (a biblical reference we will get to in a bit) and when that time passes, it is no longer available or accessible. I have a very simple way of keeping up with time. I have been taking a vitamin regimen for over ten years. I keep them in a weekly pill box (boy that is depressing) and every week I refill the box. It feels like I am always refilling that box because time is speeding by at lightning speed.

All of this is just an intro into what I want to tell you. Enter the biblical aspect of time, God’s use of time in our lives, His limits of time in our lives, and our view and understanding of what God has in store for each of us regarding time. So, let’s start at the beginning. After all, is not that where God started. Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning,” God created…. Before this initial creation of everything, time did not even exist, at least, not as we have defined. God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit existed, but I believe it was in a timeless setting. God spent seven days creating everything which included us, man.

If we take a close look at what God has given us, three, no four things stand out: God’s creation of man, God breathing life into man, God giving us salvation through His Son Jesus Christ, and God appointing a certain amount of time for each of us to live. Now obviously, God has given us an almost innumerable number of gifts; however, these four are the ones I have chosen to explain my point about killing time.

First, God gave us life. This gift was what God started with as he brought his creation into being. The Bible tells us God didn’t stop at merely creating a being. Moses explains in verse 2:7,

“the LORD God formed the man out of the dust from the ground"

and, now watch this,

"God ‘breathed the breath of life into his nostrils and the man became a living being.”

Did you get that? Man was a lump of dirt or clay which was lifeless, thoughtless, breathless, etc. But, God gave men that first gift, the gift of “life.” God took it a step further. He gave us a spirit that differs from all other creatures. It is a spirit intended to commune with God forever.

After the fall, God’s plan for our redemption was carried out through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. So, God created us, gave us the breath of life, saved us through Jesus, and assigned a certain amount of time for each of us to live. I call this the gift of time. Have you ever walked through a cemetery and noticed the writing on the headstones? On most, although not all, there is a date of birth and a date of death. Here lies John Brown (fictitious), born March 10, 1800 (–) died April 10, 1855. Notice that dash? The one between the two dates. That dash is a reference to the amount of time John Brown lived.

Many things have been written about the dash. It is not original with me. One thing for certain, the dash is serious. It defines the amount of time Mr. Brown was allotted to live. It contains every breath, every beat of his heart, every word he ever spoke, every thought, every job, hobby, meal, mistake, good deed; every relationship, every harsh treatment of someone or something, and yes, every moment of time he wasted during his life. Pretty sobering, yes?

Scripture tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, there is a time for everything. The Limelighters sang about it in 1962. The Byrds made it a hit in their song, “Turn, Turn, Turn.” The lyrics strike a note of what we should contemplate during our life.

Turn, Turn, Turn

To everything turn, turn, turn There is a season turn, turn, turn And a time to every purpose under Heaven

A time to be born, a time to die A time to plant, a time to reap

A time to kill, a time to heal A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything turn, turn, turn There is a season turn, turn, turn And a time to every purpose under Heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down

A time to dance, a time to mourn A time to cast away stones A time to gather stones together

To everything turn, turn, turn

There is a season turn, turn, turn And a time to every purpose under Heaven

A time of love, a time of hate A time of war, a time of peace A time you may embrace A time to refrain from embracing

To everything turn, turn, turn There is a season turn, turn, turn And a time to every purpose under Heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose A time to rain, a time of sow A time for love, a time for hate A time for peace, I swear it's not too late

That is the reality of it. There is a time for everything.God has given us a time for everything; a certain, defined, limited time. More than that, it is a decreed time, determined by the One and Only True God, the Creator.

This time is not to be confused with the eternality of our spirits. It is the time of the dash between the dates. It does not mean the same to God as it does to us.

Jeremiah 1:5,

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” NIV

Jeremiah 1:5,

"Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you… The Message

I take it to mean, God not only knows us before the womb, but that He created us individually with unique qualities He determined for us to have. He knew us before, He formed us before our time, and He knows us now.

The Bible tells us God knew us before we were even conceived. This means God knew us before our time was established. He will continue to know us after our time is gone; that is our earthly time. Our time will eternally be in the knowledge of God.

If the time given us by God is that important to Him, then does not it make sense that that time should be just as important to us? I mean, if God gave us a certain amount of time to live, did He include a certain amount of Time to be Killed? As the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 6:2,

“May it never be!”

God intended for us to make the most of every second, minute, hour, day, and year of our lives. He does not tell us to lay around and kill one of the most precious gifts He has given us. The prophet Daniel lived more than ninety years. He was taken captive at a young age and raised to be a leader in the house of Nebuchadnezzar. He was a man of integrity, loyal to God alone, and wise beyond his years. He was the recipient of visions and the interpreter of the visions of others.

Throughout his life, he remained faithful to God and made the most of his allotted timed to live. After all the wise counsel Daniel gave to the various kings he served under, in Daniel chapter 12:13, we read Daniel was told to

“go you way to the end; you will rest then rise to your destiny at the end of the days.”

Daniel was told to continue his way of life until he took his last breath. We have the same message, the same mandate. No, we are not prophets or apostles, but we are children of God who have been assigned a certain amount of time to live. In that “dash,” we are to follow God’s command to Daniel; go “our” way to the end of our days. We should and must follow the leading of Daniel’s life. Loyalty and commitment to God are a must along with obedience to His Word.

I can not think of many things worse than “killing” the time God lovingly gave to us. I write from experience of which I am not proud. I recently wrote about filling the pages of our lives with many things, and to not let each day pass by unnoticed. I write the same again with the emphasis that we should not refuse to make the most of each day, but that we should refuse to waste a moment of each of those days.

“Killing Time,” may it never be!

Go on your way to the end! May it always glorify God!

Wear Jesus Well,

Steve