Money is infinite, but time is not.
How to make most of our most precious resource
Money can be made through labor, interest, or even printing more of it. This is the chief concern here in the West. But it is misplaced because we somehow think we don’t have enough of it and can’t have enough of it. Yet, it is abundant. We can work more, make more money, and repeat. What we don’t have enough of is time. We can’t make more of it and we can’t make it back. And it’s not distributed in a way that is predictable. People earning a hourly wage can put in the same time and earn the same money, but the time itself is a variable. I don’t know when I will get sick or if my life will suddenly end. None of us can control this, no matter how rich or powerful.
Heaven as a postmortem type of existence was created in a world where life was very short and the infant mortality rate was high. But what the desire for heaven points towards is a need for us to have more time, an eternity of it. This belief, and any belief about the afterlife, acknowledges how valuable our time now is. If we want more of it now, then that means we want more of it after we leave this earth. Rather than debate something none of us knows for certain, why don’t we just make the most of our time now? I’m not talking about living only for the now, but living in the present moment, in the now.
When Jesus said, “I’ve come so you can have life and have it abundantly,” he was not talking about an infinite amount of time, but the quality of time. The word “eternal” is a unique Greek work that when paired with to the word “life” does not mean a quantity, but a quality. So “eternal life” is a way of valuing our time in each moment. The now of time.
Cultural studies research shows that people in the United States seem to be oriented in the present and near future. But the how we live in the present is limited to what the present can provide for us, not what this time really means. We want to experience good times and avoid bad times, that’s understandable. But the quality of the moment is in the meaning it provides. I can spend the whole day typing at this key- board, neglect my relationships and responsibilities, and produce great work. Or I could say nothing in those many hours. But am I using my time wisely? Similarly, I can put in a few hours each day, and focus on what I really want to express. That would be a more valuable use of my time.
Working long hours does not mean we’ve really did anything meaningful with our time. Cultures with a long history, like those in Europe or Asia, that value their past, find time to be a valuable teacher. These cultures are steeped in art and traditions; the past has something to say about the present. The techniques of the masters are important. Doing something well is better than just doing something. In the U.S., our “now” culture is not really a now culture anymore, but a “somewhere” else culture. Picking up a cell phone and scrolling through social media is quick way to burn time. Before we know it, thirty minutes or an hour passed by without us knowing and what value was that?
Philosopher and author, Byung-Chul Han, has published more than a two dozen books in English and double that many in German and other languages. He does this by writing three sentences each day, tending to his plants and playing classical music on his various pianos. He lives his life in quiet and seclusion, going to church even after everyone has left the sanctuary. This is how he spends his time. This is what he values.
The god of the philosopher lives outside of time, having no knowledge of it. The God of the Gospel stories, is intimately tied to time, knowing the its steady tick toward the end. Each moment from conception to death is a meaningful breath. Every moment with others, every moment alone, every bite of food, every tear shed, every word spoken, every step taken was savored as if the last. Not everything can be taken with the same gravity, but there needs to be occasions when we spend our time in shear enjoyment of something mundane, but the more we take important moments seriously, the more we can delight in the frivolous.
Suggestions. Take a walk alone or with a friend. Write a paragraph in a journal. Listen to music and notice how you feel. Enjoy the taste of coffee or tea or even a glass of water uninterrupted. Work uninterrupted. Spend less time working. Spend more time with family talking about their life, their dreams, their concerns. Make time for yourself, your own self-care. Take time for good sleep and not exhausted sleep. Lastly, say “no” to whatever does not align with our values and mission.
Given a choice to have a million dollars or to be fifteen, or twenty, or even thirty, again and get back lost time, I would take the time. A million dollars could always be made. Time cannot.