Time

Introduction:

Time. How do you use your time? Do you use it wisely? Do you use it sparingly? Do you use it freely? Personally, I prefer mine as a little garnish on the Italian dishes I make. Well, of course we’re not talking about thyme (as in the herb), but actual time. Time is important, and I’m sure I don’t need to tell you all that. We know that our time is important! We cherish it, we value it, we protect it, and we always would love more. I have a question for you all, and maybe you have heard it before. What is the most important feature of a tombstone? While a tombstone displays a variety of useful info, like your year of birth, year of death, name, etc., the most important element of a tombstone, I suggest to you, is a singular line. A dash. The line in between your year of birth and year of death. Why? Well, this little line, though small, represents everything you did in between those two years. All the good, the bad, and the ugly. Everything you lived for or worked towards, falls right into that little dash. How often to we consider how we are spending that dash? How often do we reflect on our days? Well, today, I hope to walk you through some verses of Proverbs that teach us how to use our time wisely, filling our days with what we ought to be. Today we will learn about time itself, the nature of time, and how we ought to use it. However, ultimately, I would like us to remember one thing. We ought to fill our days with love, obedience, and dedication toward the Lord.

Length of Days:

We will be jumping around quite a bit tonight, so feel free to pull out your Bibles if you’d like, but don’t feel obligated to flip to every verse. If one resonates with you, I encourage you to flip there, and meditate on it for a short while while you listen.

First, before learning about how we ought to spend our days, we first should learn a little bit more about the nature of time itself. Who here would like to live a nice, long, happy life? Which of us would like to add many years to our life? Well, *comment about that.* I certainly know that I would like to live a nice, long life. Humans naturally just strive to preserve their days, its in our nature. However, this principle isn’t just found inside our hearts, but even in scripture! Let’s take a look at Proverbs 10:27, which reads,

English Standard Version Chapter 10

Proverbs 10:27

This proverb emphasizes the importance of longevity, and the way that time is used in this passage signifies that the result of walking in the way of the Lord will yield good. Practically everyone would love to add years to their life, and practically everyone dreams of passing away in their old age, happy and content. This is the feeling that this proverb tries to invoke. The reader is meant to reflect on the days of their life, and when he states that the fear of the Lord will make the years of one’s life many, our attention is supposed to be peaked. We know from the rest of the proverb that wisdom is good, and that is consequently yields good things. This means that we should also interpret many years of life as a good thing. No one should read the the second line of this verse and say “Oh boy! I was really hoping for my days to be short!” No one in their right mind would do that! We all naturally understand that long life is an inherently good thing, and we are prone to want a long, happy life. This theme is repeated throughout the proverbs in different contexts. We see this in Proverbs 28:16 which teaches that,

English Standard Version Chapter 28

Proverbs 28:16

We see that justice, righteousness, and goodness go hand-in-hand with longevity of life. Inherently, longevity of life is good! We want to make “our dash” as long as possible, squeezing the most out of life as we can. However, longevity of life should not be the only concern for a believer! Far from it! A long life is a good thing, yet its important that a long life be filled with the right things! We have the free will to use our time as we please. Either to serve the Lord, or to disobey him. Either to walk in the paths of wickedness, or the way of righteousness. We see this concept mentioned in Proverbs 5:9, where the reader is warned,

Spending Time

English Standard Version Chapter 5

Proverbs 5:9

What does the passage mean in saying “give your years?” How does one give years? This passage is speaking on the “forbidden woman” and pleading for the son to keep his footsteps away from her. However, this specific verse gives an interesting perspective on the subject matter. In this verse, years are something that can be given. How can one “give years” to the merciless? How could I give years to anyone? This verse gets at the idea that the use of your time for the sake of others is, in some way, giving them your time. While their life is not literally increased in length, time that you could have spent doing something else has been dedicated to that person, almost like an exchange. Your time, for their gain. Sometimes this is a good thing. For example, we as Christian volunteer our time for the service of the Lord. We use our time, which we could be using for something other than God, for His glorification and for His service, such as personal devotions and worship. Sometimes we use our time to serve others in the name of Jesus, which is a dedication of our time unto God, but also other people. For example, we go out an evangelize, we pray with others, we worship with others, we attend church and its ministries throughout the week, and we even spend time making sermons for the encouragement of others. Yet time spent on things not to the glorification of God is time used in vain. It’s time used unwisely. The longer your life is, the more time you have to give. That’s the nature of a long life. Your time must be spent on something. This proverb begins to conceptualize the idea of using your time for righteousness, and ultimately for the Lord. Yet, we need to take a deeper, not so specific look at the usage of time.

Usage of Time (Wicked):

We know from biblical wisdom literature that the life and actions of an individual can be boiled down into two categories, wickedness and righteousness. The following passages we are about to discuss will give us a glimpse into the ways of each, and I hope you can see the scripture and reflect on your own days, being inspired to fill your days with goodness and righteousness. We will be taking a closer look into the “dashes” of a wicked man and a righteous man. The first tombstone we will examine will be that of the wicked man. Our passage is Proverbs 15, specifically verse 15 which states that,

English Standard Version Chapter 15

Proverbs 15:15

Well what is the context of this verse? What are we looking at here? This proverb speaks on the ways of an individual, either as wicked or righteous. The proverb opens by speaking on the tongue, eventually moving to the heart, and afterward focusing on the actions of man. The specific “chunk” of this proverb which this verse is found in speaks on the days of the afflicted as being evil, as well as some of their ways. Take, for example, verses 18-21, which share that,

English Standard Version Chapter 15

18  A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,

but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.

19  The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns,

but the path of the upright is a level highway.

20  A wise son makes a glad father,

but a foolish man despises his mother.

21  Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense,

but a man of understanding walks straight ahead.

I don’t know about you all, but I don’t read this passage wanting my days to be filled with the actions of the wicked man. I read this passage focused on the ways of the righteous man, and my heart wants to walk in those righteous ways that I read about. Nevertheless, we should acknowledge both the ways of the wicked and the righteous, and understand that one’s days can either be blessed or cursed by God. But on what basis are they blessed or cursed by God? Well, this proverb (and the rest of Proverbs) tell us! When one walks in the righteous path of the Lord, his days will be blessed, and vise versa. This suggests that our days are to be stewarded well, as what we fill our days with will guide whether “our dash” is filled with goodness. A quick look into other proverbs would agree, giving us even deeper looks into the ways of the wicked. For example, Proverbs 21:26 speaks about the sluggard, sharing that,

English Standard Version Chapter 21

Proverbs 21:26

This proverb primarily speaks on the ways and consequences of the wicked life. This proverb is practically an instruction on how not to live, and this verse in particular speaks in regard to what a day of the wicked is filled with. This verse says that the sluggard craves all day, without thought or desire of giving freely. This verse clearly agrees that our days can be filled with wickedness or goodness; righteousness or evil. Our days are always going to be filled with one of the two, so it’s our responsibility to not be like the sluggard or wicked and to fill our days with goodness and righteousness. If we are lazy and do not keep watch on our treatment of our days, we will quickly find ourselves in the way of the wicked. And not only is the way of the wicked unfruitful and evil, but its also untrustworthy! We know this by reading Proverbs 25:19, which states that,

English Standard Version Chapter 25

Proverbs 25:19

If the wicked ways of man are evil, how much more the man themselves! A poor stewardship of time will leave us hurt, broken, and unstable.

Usage of Time (Good):

Yet what about the ways of the righteous? With the way of the wicked being such a slippery slope, how can we find ourselves in the way of the righteous? Well, we learn this in Proverbs 23:17, which reads,

English Standard Version Chapter 23

Proverbs 23:17

The language used in this chapter is beautiful. This proverb speaks as a father to his son, warning his son of the wicked ways that he is to avoid in order to stay in the path of righteousness. The writer is teaching that all the ways of the wicked that we just learned about are to avoided at all costs! He pleads with his son to walk in the ways of righteousness, instructing us how to do so. This verse speaks to the son, commanding him to not be envious of the wicked ways that he has been hearing about in the previous verses, but to fill his days with the fear of the Lord. This builds on the idea that we have the ability to control what we fill our days with, and that we’re called to fill our days with good and the fear of the Lord. We can actively choose to fill our days with the fear of the Lord! We know from the first chapters of proverbs that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, and one who is wise and has knowledge will be capable of walking in the way that is good and right. Well, this is awesome news! What else can we fill our days with? Well, lets take a look at Proverbs 17:17. This verse tells us that,

English Standard Version Chapter 17

Proverbs 17:17

This verse is fairly popular among those teaching on friendship, discipleship, and how to persevere through hard times. It makes total sense, as it’s an incredibly heart warming verse! The reason that this verse is so beautiful is that it describes a friend who loves perpetually; brother that loves at all times. Though a brother may be in a season of adversity, the friend is there, filled with love, ready to minister and help. We as followers of Christ should read this and want to be just like that. We should see a life lived full of love for others and want to do the same! For this is exactly how God treats us, with perpetual love! My family in Christ, not only can we fill our days with the fear of the Lord, but we can fill them with love! It’s a beautiful thing, as the fear of the Lord enables us to love, filling our days with goodness and joy, even in times of adversity. Yet what about the day of adversity? What about the time of calamity? What happens when we lose our footing and slip into the ways of the wicked? What happens when wickedness begins to invade “our dash?” Well I believe Proverbs 24:16 has a word for us on that. This verse reads,

English Standard Version Chapter 24

Proverbs 24:16

When the righteous man falls, he gets back up, no matter how hard he fell or how many times he has fell. The righteous man’s days are dedicated to Lord, so he gets back up, striving to continue walking in the ways of the Lord. He defends “his dash” by not dwelling in his failures, but getting back up and being even more obedient to the Lord as he continues. Our days can be filled with obedience towards God, even when we fall. For we know that if we strive to fill our days with the fear of the Lord, the love of God, and with obedience to Christ, we will walk in the way of the righteous.

Do Not Be Afraid:

Yet I must warn you, please be careful with how you view your dash. For with an improper view of your dash, you may find yourself caught up and confused in your ways. For some may be overly focused on how the rest of their dash may go! Some are so concerned for what it yet to come, spending so much time trying to figure out what is yet unseen, that they miss what God has for them in the moment.

English Standard Version Chapter 27

Proverbs 27:1

Of all the proverbs that mention the usage of one’s time, this is the most profound of them all. What a strong verse! In a modern context, when talking about time, what is most frequently discussed? It would seem that the most significant application of time today is our schedule. What we will do, and what is coming next. How many people go day-to-day worrying about something that is yet to come? How much blessing and wonder to people miss every day by worrying about the troubles to come? How long do people stay awake at night worried about problems that may be, or may become? How many boast of plans to come, that never come to fruition? How many promise to another that they will do something, yet it never comes to pass? How many false promises? How many missed opportunities? The worry for tomorrow leaves us vulnerable to a variety of bad things: stress, anxiety, depression, worry, over-confidence, humiliation, etc. We see this theme repeated by Jesus in Mark 6:34, where Jesus says,

English Standard Version Chapter 6

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

We need to be watchful over our lives, yet keep a proper perspective on our dash as we move along to that listed year that will follow. For some of us, we may be further along in our dash than others. Some of us may be much further along than we think. Some of us may have a long, long dash ahead of us. We hope that the Lord return soon that our dash may even carry on into eternity, not feeling the sting of death, yet that is a topic for another time. My family in Christ, simply be watchful on your dash. Do not be overly concerned about what is to come, and do not be overly confident in what is to come. God has numbered our days, and they rest in His hands. Our job is to walk day-by-day, filling our dash with as much love and obedience towards the Lord as we possibly can, encouraging others to do the same.

Conclusion:

So, I ask you all: When all is said and done. When the day comes for your body to await the Lord in the ground until he returns. When your family and friends stand around a stone, firmly set in the dirt. When they look at that dash right in between your year of birth and death. What will they think? What will they remember? What will they feel? What will they miss? What will they say? All we do should be done with the understanding that we are but a vapor in the wind, and our days are short. We should constantly strive to fill our days with love, obedience, and dedication to the Lord, all while staying as far away from the ways of the wicked as possible. I’m sure we all want our family and friends to look at that dash with a smile. With a small sigh of lament. So the question stands. How will you fill your dash? I believe that we ought to fill our days with love, obedience, and dedication toward the Lord.