What Time Are You On?

A couple in our church took what was planned to be a relaxing vacation to the Bahamas. While there, he tried to reach his mother by telephone, but it was taking way too long to get connected. He got more agitated the longer it took. Unsure of the time where his mother lived, he asked the operator the time zone of the Bahamas. Her classic response was, “We are on ‘Go-slow time, Mon, go-slow time.’”

What time are you on? Most of us are on “Go-fast time.” The problem is that Time is on “Go-fast time.” 

Stephen F. Olford wrote this “time-less” poem:

When as a child I laughed and wept, Time crept.
When as a youth I dreamed and talked, Time walked.
When I became a full-grown man, Time ran;
And later, as I older grew, Time flew.
Soon I shall find while traveling on, Time gone.

In running its race, Time made me pick up my pace. I hurried here. I rushed there. I tried to get this done quickly so I could get to that. Sometimes I felt that I was already behind before the day even started! When Tim was in kindergarten, I put a poem that I wrote in his lunch box that captured my frustration at my busyness:

We’re tardy for the party so we hurry, hurry, hurry!
We rush around and crush around and scurry, scurry, scurry!
Don’t be tardy for the party or you’ll worry, worry, worry!
You’ll jump around and bump all in a flurry, flurry, flurry!

I am now at the age when Time is trying to put on its wings so it can fly. But I am slowing down! “Go-slow time” is becoming more attractive to me. Naps are now part of my job description!

Scripture teaches us that God is the Author of Time. He created all things in six days and rested on the seventh. He didn’t hurry or rush. He was organized and made everything according to His plan and in its proper time. Jesus had the most important mission to accomplish in the world, the redemption of mankind. Nowhere is it mentioned that He ever hurried or rushed, yet He accomplished everything that He was responsible for. Of course, he didn’t have T.V., videos, e-mail, the Internet, smart-phone games, Twitter, Tik-Tok, or Facebook to take up His time. I suggest that we should redirect our focus away from these things and onto Him, His work, and the responsibilities He gives to us. He tells us in His Word that there is a time for every purpose under Heaven (Eccl. 3:1). We have enough time, without constantly rushing, to accomplish our tasks.

You may be geared for “Go-fast time,” but you may be wearing yourself out. Instead, practice slowing down and focusing upon doing the things that are eternally important. Maybe we should all go to the Bahamas where can learn how to live in “Go-slow time.”