How we use our time

by Guest blogger

This stewardship devotion is offered monthly on the Women of the ELCA website to encourage women in WELCA congregational units, circles, and any small group as they take up an offering while meeting. These devotions vary each month and focus on sharing gifts personally and as a community to support the ministry of Women of the ELCA.

by the Rev. Dr. Becca Ehrlich

“Lord, let me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight. Surely everyone stands as a mere breath.” (Psalm 39: 4-5)

Time is a weird thing. Sometimes it flies by, and we don’t know where it went. Other times, it drags on and it feels like a few minutes last a whole hour. But most of the time, we just kind of take time for granted. It’s just… there. Ticking away.

The Psalmist writing these Bible verses does not want us to take time for granted. Their prayer asks God to remind that them that their time on earth is short, especially in comparison to God’s perception of time. The implication in their words is that they want to remember that their life is “fleeting” so that they can make the most of their time.

On Ash Wednesday, the start of the church season of Lent, we are invited to remember that our time on earth is not infinite. Many congregations have ministry leaders place ashes on our foreheads, in the sign of the cross, saying words like “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” In short, Ash Wednesday is a churchly reminder that we are going to die someday. And we are encouraged to return to God in the time that we have left.

Ash Wednesday stands as a liturgical reminder of death. Benjamin Franklin once famously said (in the context of the new United States Constitution having permanency): “…in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” We know death is certain. But typically we avoid thinking or talking about it, because it’s not a pleasant thing to think about. So we live, ignoring the certainty of death—unless we are confronted by it in a loved one’s death, or in a near-death experience.

We all know that we are going to die at some point—but because we often avoid thinking or talking about death, we function as if we have all the time in the world. We “kill” time doing things that don’t matter. We say “yes” to time commitments that we don’t want to do. We fritter away hours scrolling through social media or get sucked into binge-watching mindless TV shows.

Having some downtime is obviously necessary, and doing brainless activities for a short time can be a good reset for our bodies and brains. But when hours go by, we can wish we had used the time differently, but by then it’s too late. Those are hours we will never get back.

The tough reality is that we do not have unending amounts of time. We can ask ourselves: How do we want to use our time on earth? How can we be more intentional with our time?

This is not to shame us into productivity culture. We are not created to be productive all of the time; God gifted us Sabbath rest for a reason. Working and producing 24/7 will only burn us out and make us sick.

Instead, being intentional with our time means balancing work, play, rest, and God time (prayer, devotions, worship, etc.). It’s about being aware of how we are using our time, and using our time deliberately.

It seems weird at first that the Psalmist prays that God will remind them that they their time is short. But really, the Psalmist just wants the reminder so that they live deliberately, using the time they are given wisely. May God also remind us that our time on earth is finite, so that we can be intentional in

The Rev. Dr. Becca Ehrlich is a pastor, writer, author, and spiritual director. She serves as Executive Director and Founder of New Breath Spirituality Center, and Adjunct Professor of Christian Spirituality at United Lutheran Seminary. She blogs about minimalism from a Christian perspective at www.christianminimalism.com and her book Christian Minimalism: Simple Steps for Abundant Living was released in 2021.

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