November 16 Well Spent

I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: Wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when he has a son, there is nothing left for him. Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand. ~Ecclesiastes 5:13-15

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ~Matthew 6:19-21

In the mid 1970s, a balladeer by the name of Harry Chapin made it big on the music scene with a song entitled, “Cat’s in The Cradle.” The refrain of the song was: “And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon, Little Boy Blue and the Man in the Moon. When you comin’ home dad?” “I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then. Yeah! You know we’ll have a good time then.”

The song was about a child, born to a busy father. The boy was always inviting the father to spend time with him, but the father was constantly putting the son off. Despite that, the son would always admiringly say, “I’m gonna be like Him, yeah. You know I’m gonna be like him.”

Then the twist in the last verse comes when the Father finally has time: “Well, I’ve long since retired and my son’s moved away. I called him up just the other day. I said: “I’d like to see you if you don’t mind?” He said: “I’d love to dad if I could find the time. You see, my new job’s a hassle and the kids have the flu, but it’s sure nice talking to you, dad. It’s sure nice talking to you.” And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me, he’d grown up just like me. My boy was just like me.”

There is an adage that says, “Love is spelled, T I M E.” When we read Solomon’s observation above it could refer to a parent who has spent all of his money and thus has nothing left for the children. This could be done through poor investments, indulging in selfish interests, but money isn’t the only resource that God has entrusted to us. I believe that time is even more crucial than money.

It’s easy to purchase a trinket for a child and send them off to play with it, but it is in time spent with that child that relationships are formed, and knowledge is passed along, allowing discipling to take place. Don’t we all feel valued and treasured when someone takes the time to be with us? We may think that they are too busy to even notice us, but when they stop and ask how we are doing and then actually look into our eyes and listen to our answer: don’t we all appreciate that kind of care?

When we give our time in that way to another, they receive the same blessing as us when someone actually pays attention to us. I even find that phrase “Pay attention,” indicative of just how valuable giving of one’s time is. A payment of time, paying attention, another form of payment, besides money, with which we can bless one another. We will do what we really want to do, both with our money and our time. Money experts will say, “Show me your checkbook and I’ll learn what is important to you.”

Perhaps the same could be said of the calendar, if we truly kept track of our time spent. At least with money, there is a reckoning. Eventually, you will have to balance the check book or you will get into real trouble. Time, however, slips away, leaving us wondering about how it was spent, without a trace of where it has gone. Sometimes only God knows how the time He has given us, has been truly spent. Was it spent on our treasure? Was it wasted?

“Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.” What he, or we, can carry, however, are relationships. We may not be able to carry them in our hands, but we can carry them in our hearts. The people we have spent time with and led to Jesus are a treasure that represents time well spent. While we are actually spending it, we may not appreciate the investment, but there will be a payoff, especially if we see them standing in the throng, along with us, in eternity.

True, there may not be a tangible accumulation, visible here in the seen world as our earthly possessions are, but remember, that pile of stuff is temporary. It will belong to someone else soon enough, either through an inheritance or a garage sale. It’s different with people. That accumulation may just have to wait for heaven, but it is more real and will last longer than anything you may buy or spend time with in the here and now.

Prayer: Father help me to make other people, and their welfare, a top priority in my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Song: Each One, Reach One