‘Time in a Bottle’
The older folks in the congregation may remember a song by Jim Croce called ‘Time in a Bottle’, there’s a line in the chorus that says:
“… there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them…”
His 'Time in a Bottle' song was strangely prophetic!
Such an ironic song from a man that was taken from this earth at age 30! He hit the charts with two top selling albums in 1973, several big songs, (including one of my personal favorites called ‘Roller Derby Queen’!)
Tragically, He would die in a plane crash the same year!
I was thinking about the things we do that take up our time. No matter how rich or poor, no matter how far you climb the corporate ladder, how successful you are, you can’t buy or earn even one minute! From Donald Trump to the guy on the corner with the cardboard sign, we all have been given exactly the same number of minutes in a day.
For you math fans that’s 1440 each day. Jesus himself was limited to this restriction.
If you get the recommended amount of sleep, that cuts you down by 8 hours a day. Some that cheat here and only get 5 or 6 a day probably will pay for it by a shorter life span.
Most folks have to work for a living, and that takes, on average another 8 hours.
Accounting for meals, commute time, grooming, bathing, let’s say that takes another 3 hours a day.
Now we’re down to about 5 hours a day ‘left over’. These hours are the time that we have to spend on ‘optional’ things, but if you’re a parent, those are mostly all taken up with taxi service to/from school, childcare, children’s sports, household chores, etc… You’re hard pressed to find time to breathe!
Service clubs, (PTA, Scouts, Lions, etc…), coaching kids sports, recreational activities, exercise take a big chunk as well.
Serving God through Church services and related activities are often at the bottom of the priority list!
What’s the point of all this itemizing?
We have very limited time on this Earth. We often are the prisoners of our busy lives and do not take enough time to step back off the merry go round and really give serious thought to our priorities.
The single most important things you can do for yourself is to take specific time out to reflect on our lives.
Spending time alone, regularly, with God and really being honest about how we’re doing is vital to our spirits and bodies too!
I read an article written by a hospice nurse named Bonnie Ware last week.
She wrote a book that lists the five top deathbed regrets that she heard most often in 30 years of caring for the dying.
I think all of them related to how they spent their time:
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled.
Most people had not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.
It is very important to try and honor at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realize, until they no longer have it.
2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.
This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.
By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.
We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
Often they would not truly realize the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.
It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.
When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.
Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.
Those are great things to keep in mind, I'm sure we could add a bunch of our own to the list, but for the Christ follower, we have something bigger than deathbed regrets to ponder.
I would add a #6:
I didn't attain all the potential that God created me to be!
We have a master that we must give account to! Mostly when preachers speak about judgment, it’s talking about the ‘separating of the sheep and the goats’ discussed in chapter 25 of Matthew’s Gospel.
But immediately before that, Just before that description of the sheep and goats in Matt 25, Jesus told this parable:
The Parable of the Talents
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants[c] and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents,[d] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.
19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.[e] You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’
26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. Matt 25:14-28
Pretty harsh! I think we need to give more thought to standing before Jesus in giving account for our time! We pretty much give ourselves lots of slack, but why not get serious about multiplying the gifts we been given?
Several scripture verses emphasize the importance of living our faith out wisely:
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. 12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 1 Cor 3:11-14 NLT
This is not a contradiction to 'salvation by faith alone'. This is speaking of rewards. We can't spend the precious time we have been given chasing after the 'hay and stubble' of this earth!
10 In time we will all stand in judgment before the throne of the Anointed, the Liberating King, to receive what is just for our conduct (whether it be good or bad) while we lived in this temporary body. 2 Cor 5:10 the Voice
Another verse here amplifies the idea of rewards- but the key word here is just!
We serve a just and fair Master!
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. Rom 14:10-12
So again the idea that we will give an accounting of our lives. I like this verse because it includes the reminder that we will give account for ourselves and we can leave the judging of others to God!
Time in a bottle? Since we can't alter time, can't save it in a bottle or turn back the clock. We can, however, starting with today, begin to use those precious minutes wisely, and on things that matter!
