Recently I started home delivery of the newspaper. It has caused me to restart an old habit: reviewing the obituaries. I don’t do it to make sure I am still alive. The practice does make me thankful that I am. I will be 71 in March. It is sobering to read the obituaries of those whose lives were so much shorter than that.
It’s a truth that life is short. It’s even biblical:
29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away. 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
It’s a Divine Mystery why some lives are so short and some so much longer. My guess is that God wants to keep us on our toes. We never know when life will end.
The shortness of time makes it an extremely valuable commodity. The few minutes we give listening to someone is gold. The time that was spent helping me with a project is time that person will never get back. Time spent grumbling or angry or resentful is time burned. I hope I never have to explain away all the time I’ve spent sitting in front of my television.
The value of time accelerates the awfulness of procrastination.
What am I going to do today? It’s a day I’ll never get back. I need to spend it well.
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