OF TIME AND MEN

Ecclesiastes 7:14 When TIMES are good, be happy; but when TIMES are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.

We all know the old saying, “TIME IS MONEY.” But I have made my own observation; MONEY, TIME and MEN are three inseparable things. At least, I am learning firsthand from the one God has given me: My own husband. You see, for him, he calculates his success…i.e time invested in a task by the returns. One day, he comes home with that sense of pride that today his time was well worth it…of course, plenty of clients and cash flow. Another, his man ego almost crashed…the clients are few and the boss is nervous.

You see, until a year or so ago, TIMES were good. People went about living their lives as normal. Going to work, buying homes or flats on mortgage, going for exotic holidays and of course, saving for the ‘rainy day.’ Then, bang!…Without warning…the world financial institutions began crumbling down. People from right, left and center began losing their jobs, homes and health. For men, especially whose time means money, staying at home or taking on a less-attractive job can be quite a painful experience.

But wait a minute…the above scriptures talks about GOOD TIMES and BAD TIMES. Yes, its a fact we are now living in difficult financial times. In bad times, we are told to CONSIDER...that is to stop and rethink and re-evaluate our priorities. There are things which time cannot translate into money. For example, we bought a bicycle for our daughter last Spring. Of course, my husband and I took turns and invented time to teach her how to ride. Our time did not translate into money, but rather into a deeper pleasure which no money can buy.

And this same challenge goes to the MEN out there:
How can you invest your time well during these times as you wait for an opening? There are plenty of institutions looking for volunteers e.g nursing homes, hospices, your Church community etc. TIME doesn’t always have to spell money. TIME SHOULD ALWAYS TRANSLATE INTO PEOPLE, first and foremost…in GOOD OR BAD TIMES!