19(Psalm 090) Numbering Our Days
15 there's still time for you, Time to buy and time to lose
15, there's never a wish better than this, When you only got 100 years to live
I'm 33 for a moment, A kid on the way, A family on my mind
I'm 45 for a moment, The sea is high, And I'm heading into a crisis, Chasing the years of my life
I'm 99 for a moment, Dying for just another moment (“100 Years”, Five for Fighting)
Reminded of another song, a much older one (not from 60s) – Psalm 90 (Moses). Like “100 Years”, this song ponders the passing of time. Psalmist seems perplexed, even troubled by brevity of life.
The way he figures it, you get 70 maybe 80 years if you’re lucky. Before we know it, life comes to an end and we wonder if our lives have counted for something, for anything. Only trouble and sorrow, or will we have something to show for the years we’ve spent in this world?
We ask that question from time to time. Not every day; not most days. But on certain days, when life slows a few moments, when the calendar changes, when a famous celebrity passes away, or when thousands die in a disaster – we stop and think about the passing of time, about the meaning of our lives.
As Christian people, we want our lives to add up to something – something that will last. We want our lives to count for God. For that to happen we have to become shrewd stewards in three areas of our life: time, money, talents.
This morning we are going to look at being wise stewards of our time. We are going to discover that if you want your life to count, you have to number your days. Lets look at Psalm 90.
I. We are told to number our days (90:1-4)
A. First, Moses sees the eternal nature of God (4)
§ Moses knows of the eternal nature of God – “I am that I am” has sent you.
B. The frail nature of man (5-6).
§ You turn men back to dust (3).
§ We are like people living in a flood zone, while we sleep the waters of life sweep us away.
§ We are like grass, flourishing in the morning rains only to wither and die in afternoon sun.
C. Another songwriter: Kansas song, “Dust in the Wind”
I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone
All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind.
Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind (“Dust in the Wind”, Kansas)
D. The answer, Moses says, is to number our days.
§ We all do that, go thru life counting some things we think will make us happy.
· As a kid, I counted my coin collection. Kids today count their video game scores.
· Some count the A’s on their report card, or the wins/losses of their team.
· Teenagers count the number of friends they have, # of colleges they get into.
· College students count grade points; credit hours.
· Others count # of beers they cant drink in a night – which somehow proves their manhood.
· Adults measure happiness by # of bedrooms in their house, # cars in garage, degrees earned, golf scores, yield on investments.
§ Moses warns us not to go thru life counting on the wrong things.
§ If you want you life to count for something, number your days.
· Count the days, hours and minutes – value them. Make the most of them.
§ Three things happen when we number our days.
1. We realize how few we actually have.
§ Most people live like they have an unlimited # of days. We expect to live long lives. Can’t count them all.
§ But the psalmist reminds us we have a limited #; perhaps 70 or 80 years by his reckoning.
§ That may sound like a lot when you’re 15, but calculate and it is around 30,000 days.
§ One commentator: “teach us to remember that we must die, in order that we might know how to live.”
§ Tim McGraw – “Live Like You Were Dying”
· About a man who learned he was sick and only had a short time to live.
· That knowledge changed him: skydiving, mountain climbing, loved deeper, spoke sweeter.
· Became the husband he’d always talked about being – kind of friend he hoped to have.
§ When we # our days, we realize how few of them we really have, so we spend them more wisely.
2. We spend them more wisely.
§ Average American spends 7.5 hrs/day sleeping, 3.5 hrs working, 2 hrs watching TV 1.5 housework
§ 1 hr eating, .5 recreation/day, .5 washing/grooming, 9 minutes thinking.
§ That study done before internet and video games became so popular.
§ Notice that minutes spent in worship or service to others so small it did not register.
§ How much to you spend getting close to God, growing spiritually? 15 mn/day? 30? Is that enough?
§ I’m not talking about coming to services or class, but serving your church, community.
§ Even 2 hrs wk = 104 hrs/year, barely 4 days/year.
§ Time is like money. You can use it to by things – things you need or want.
· But in order to spend your money wisely, you need to know how much you have. (too much/little).
· You either waste it on trivial things and don’t have enough for important things or will do without when you had the money to buy what was needed.
§ Most make that mistake when it comes to time.
· Young people think have plenty, can waste some.
· They will get to important things later – when done with school, kids grown, not so busy at work.
· But they run out of time before they get to those things.
· Others think they have too little time.
· Can’t do something significant for God or others – so they don’t even try.
§ Thing about time – everyone has exactly the same amount – 24 hours a day.
· And that is just enough to do something significant for God.
§ When you # you days, you will learn to spend them wisely.
3. We receive God’s blessing. (14-15)
§ Moses ends on an upbeat note.
§ Learning to spend time wisely, he invites you to enjoy God’s blessings to follow.
§ He is a realist – life is hard.
§ But when we learn to # and value our days, God is able to bless them; they are able to count for eternal significance (17).
You have only one life to life – don’t waste it.