MAKING THE MOST OF EACH DAY

 

A sermon by the Rev. Dr. James G. Kirk

Harundale Presbyterian Church

Glen Burnie, Maryland

 

August 17, 2003

 

Text: “Be careful then how you live.” (Ephesians 5:15)

 

First Reading: 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14

Second Reading: Psalm 111

 

            The other day George Fowler sent me an e-mail that just seemed to fit so well Paul’s letter today.  “Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time.”  The e-mail is entitled “Harbor Lights” and is set to that song with paintings by Thomas Kincaid.  As the music flows along you’re treated to some wise words of wisdom.  For example, “Allow yourself time to be lazy and unproductive.  Nothing is usually the hardest thing to do…but often it is the best.”

 

            Paul goes on to write, “So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”  Most of the time we’re busy.  Seldom do we do nothing, particularly we who call ourselves Presbyterians.  Whether we know it or not Calvin instilled in us the puritan work ethic that came with its own byline, “idle hands are the devil’s tools.”  What happens with that work ethic is that we get ourselves into such a state of busyness that almost borders on the compulsive need always to be doing something.  Something’s wrong when there’s nothing to do!  So, people create work in order to fill the void.  When the end of the day comes even then they find it difficult to sleep, since the mind keeps rehearsing over and over the events of the day. They think about what they accomplished or failed to accomplish and then it’s time to start the new day with the same frenzied pace and lack of time to do all there’s to do.  What Paul would say to all that is our busyness inhibits the Lord from encroaching upon our schedule and we don’t take the time to “understand what the will of the Lord is.”

 

            This summer there’s been quite a few articles about how the American people don’t know how to vacation.  Americans get fewer weeks than European and when they do vacation it’s often at the same hectic pace as the workweek.  Americans as a rule don’t go away long enough to relax and often when they are away they’re worried about all the work that awaits them when they get home.  So, to do nothing really is the hardest thing to do, but is often the best.  Whitman said, “I loafe and invite my soul.”  Paul is saying the same thing. To understand what the will of the Lord is takes time, time that isn’t always so busy that we never invite our soul to seeks God’s guidance.  Or, as Harbor Lights reminds us, “rest isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.”

 

            Now go back to the Paul’s first sentence, “Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time.”   There we meet what should be our good friend, time, but it often becomes our enemy, because there’s never enough of it.  You’ve heard my discussion of time before.  Paul uses two Greek words to describe time, one is what we wear on our wrists and the other is God’s time, chronos and kairos.  Chronos is where we get our English word chronology.  Chronological time can be measured.  Chronological time is what we spend all of our energy on in accomplishing what has to be done.  That’s why there’s never enough of it.  It’s all tied in with our compulsive nature always to be doing something. 

 

            When Paul writes how we’re to make the most of the time, he’s using kairos instead of chronos.  In other words, we are to make the most of God’s time.  Harbor Lights had another interesting verse.  It said, “slow down. God is still in heaven.  You are not responsible for doing it all yourself.”  God’s time isn’t measured by how much we accomplish on any given day.  God’s time is the time we take to do something simply because we don’t have to do it.  A classic example is our leisure time.  Leisure time is God’s time.  Leisure time is what we do when we don’t have to work.  Recent studies show that the more leisure time a person can work into their lives the longer they’ll live.  Leisure time reduces heart attacks; leisure time reduces hypertension; leisure time allows the body and mind to re-create itself.  In fact, recreation has become such an important part of our lives that Union Theological Seminary in Richmond is seeking to endow a chair for the study of recreation and its importance in the life of the church.

 

            God’s time is also those interruptions in our lives, the importance of which we usually don’t realize until some time later.  When I was a pastor in Newport Beach I knew that my next call would be to San Diego.  After awhile in Newport Beach the time would come to move on.  Then I would begin looking for a good congregation in the San Diego area and was sure the Holy Spirit would see fit to call me there.  Well, after five years in Newport Beach I ended up in New York City.  People at the General Assembly kept asking why I left beautiful Newport Beach for New York City.  All I could answer them was I thought I was going to San Diego.  God’s time in that case was a big interruption in my schedule.  But those were thirteen wonderful years and I never questioned God’s time again!

 

            God’s time is sometimes those “ah-has” in life.  Suddenly something becomes very clear, be it your understanding, a relationship, a reason for doing something, or a clarification that up to this time had been quite puzzling.  In the old days the comic page depicted an idea as a light bulb above someone’s head.  That’s what “ah-has” are, a light bulb that goes off above someone’s head.  This past week the “ah-ha” wasn’t so much what went on and what went off.

 

            When the whole Northeast section of the country went dark in seven seconds that was a big “ah-ha.”  Not that I have any intention of blaming God for the blackout, but that’s how God’s time works.  We get so caught up in our routines and so sure of our capacity to handle our successes that when God wants our attention it usually takes some drastic measure.  Here was the mightiest nation in the world suddenly brought to its knees.  People weren’t able to get money they needed or gas to fill their cars.  Cash registers stopped functioning.  There was a convenience store in upstate New York that switched over to its own generator when the power failed.  So, they could stay open, but for some reason the cash register wasn’t able to indicate the change people needed.  Long lines formed even outside the store as people waited to pay for their goods and receive their change.  What was taking so long was that the woman at the register had to count out the change.  The register no longer did the math and the woman had to remember all of her arithmetic and the people just had to wait to get their change.  So, two lessons learned from the blackout.  Always keep half a tank of gas in the car and always have at least twenty dollars cash in your wallets, just in case the power goes out!

 

            Paul concludes with how we are to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and give thanks to God for everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  If we were to do just some of that God would have a much easier time of having a positive effect on our lives.  God wouldn’t have to resort to such drastic measures to enter in.  Harbor Lights had one more whimsical verse that is worth pondering.  “Each moment has a richness that takes a lifetime to savor.”  Our lives go by fast enough.  Take the moment to savor each little richness God gives us.   Then we will make the most of the time.