Why are we often in such a hurry? As the old saying goes, “Where’s the fire?” Is the fire really a fear of losing time—or our lives? In reflecting upon time and technological means to speed us along in space, Karl Barth writes,
If only one could say why all these people rushing by so quickly are in such a hurry, why it is that they are so terribly pressed, as may be seen very forcibly today on every street! What do they propose to do with the time and energy saved? When people of such different places and localities are so surprisingly brought together, what do they think of saying to one another? How far is the enhanced speed of our movements to and fro really necessary or rewarding? Are people in such a hurry because they are afraid of something? What are they afraid of? Be that is it may, what have the automobile, the airplane, and the rocket brought about in human life that is not just different but better as compared with the time of walking and the stagecoach, better, that is to say, in terms of true pleasantness, the understanding and mastering of serious problems and needs, the real relations between people? Have they given us a more open, profound, fruitful, beautiful, and kindly view of the cosmos around us, a more vital one than that of Goethe? Do not modern travelers rush undeviantly past a hundred noteworthy things, blind where their forefathers could see, and perhaps flying over them altogether up in the void?[1]
Surely our modern forms of transportation have helped us get along much more comfortably in so many ways. Still, has our apparent moves to fill up every moment of time and every nook and cranny of space helped us along in life? Or are we losing our grip on reality, even as we seize time and space by the throat? Why do we grasp? What are we afraid of? Are we afraid of running out of time and life?
I turned 52 yesterday. But the year in life is somewhat relative. Switch the numbers around and I’m 25 again! I am getting older, but older in relation to what and whom? Age is really a condition of the heart and imagination in many ways. In fact, I become younger of heart when I do not seek to gain a grip on time, but entrust the years of my life to the Ancient of Days. In fact, the greater my fear of God, the more I will use the time entrusted to me for lasting purposes (See Psalm 90).
Jesus talks about the rich fool who sought to get a grip on life by storing up all his goods for himself rather than share them with others. God took his life, and there was nothing left for him upon which to cling. He was rich in terms of the world’s possessions, but not toward God (Luke 12:16-21). In contrast, Jesus tells his disciples not to fear, but to give to the poor because God’s eternal kingdom has been given to them.
Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Luke 12:32-34; ESV)
You would think the older one gets the more one would take to heart Jesus’ warning about the rich fool—after all, one draws closer to the grave with every passing day. Instead of trying to make an eternity out of time, it is important to live our passing moments in light of eternity. One can save time and money, but lose out on what really counts—God, people—including the poor, relationships.
God, teach me during this new year of life to be sober-minded and invest more than ever in relationships for your name’s sake.
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[1]Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, vol. IV/4, The Christian Life (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1981), page 231.
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