Our Most Precious Resource

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” — Mother Teresa

Time is the most precious resource we have. We can't make more of it, it goes too quickly or too slowly depending on our mood, and we often find at the end that we didn't have enough of it or didn't make good enough use of it.

Time is also something that is discussed at length in the Bible, with varying viewpoints. In Ecclesiastes we are reminded there is a "time for every purpose under heaven." We are also reminded that all those things occur in God's timing, which is perfect.

Though it is our human tendency to fret about that which we cannot control — time being one of those things — we are admonished to have faith. Jesus told us all not to worry about tomorrow because today has enough worries of its own. While it sounds like a good idea in theory, that can sometimes be hard to live in practice.

And it's not getting any easier. We live in an instant gratification culture which seems to put time pressure on everything. We are pressed, especially, in the ways we allocate our time, which can be even more frustrating.

When we talk about money, we often refer to the idea that, where we invest our treasure, so, too, we invest our heart. But wouldn't that have to be even more true of our time? Time is our most precious resource, and the way we use our time is a reflection of the values of our heart.

Considering that, how sad it is the way we invest our time in America. We invest countless hours at work and at leisure. We invest time in personal projects and things that are very temporal. But is that the best use of this precious resource?

How much time do we invest in family, in the relationships that matter most to building our community? What about God? Do we give Him the time He deserves? Is that even possible?

There are no easy answers to these questions, but at least in asking the questions we open ourselves to a real examination of the heart. That, after all, is the only path to personal growth.