Time

Recently I watched the movie "IN TIME" with Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried.

In a not-too-distant future when the aging gene has been switched off, people must pay to stay alive. To avoid overpopulation, time has become the currency and the way people pay for luxuries and necessities. The rich can live forever, while the rest try to negotiate for their immortality. When Will Salas inherits a fortune of time from a dead upper class man, he is falsely accused of murder. He is forced to go on the run from a corrupt police force known as 'time keepers'; and must figure out a way to bring down a system where time is money - literally - enabling the wealthy to live forever while the poor, like Will, have to beg, borrow, and steal enough minutes to make it through another day.

We have some pretty crazy ways of talking about time. It’s like we’re in this abusive, exploitative relationship with time that passes through dramatic ups and downs.

We keep time.
We lose time.
We save time.
We kill time.
We make time.
We spend time.
We waste time.
We guard time.
We fight time.
We always wish for more time

On one hand, time is one of the most precious gifts we can give to someone else. On the other hand, it can be a slave master that rules us—prodding us to move faster, to do more, and to feel guilty. The guilt of how we spend our time can be crushing.

Time isn’t the problem. Our problems come from our adversarial, sometimes overly sentimental relationships with time.

Time is a Gift from God
God is present in our days, using us for his purposes. He gives us these limited amounts of time on earth so that we can accomplish his Kingdom work. This is an essential starting point. If time is my own, then I will guard it from others and fight to use it as I desire. If time comes from God, then I don’t need to fight, struggle, or save. God does the saving, and I do the following.

God Wants to Use Time
Each day doesn’t have to begin like a race we are losing. We can begin by seeking God’s desire for us and for our days. I often find that an attitude of submission and seeking that is directed toward God’s desire for my day can make the difference. We don’t need to struggle with time. God wants to heal our relationship with time, leading us to a place where we can find his peace and rest each day as we line ourselves up with his desires and direction.

So, take a minute to thank God for today and to offer your time to him.

Blessings