Time is money. NOT.

It's the New Year. Resolutions aside, how do you plan to spend the New Year? Whoever said Time = Money was quite wrong. Time is far more valuable. You can spend time and money, of course. But you can't save time. It cannot be stored or banked away.

We all live on a fixed income of moments that, like it or not, WILL be spent. Compounding the issue is that we don't know what the sum total of our "time income" will be. God knows how long we will live, but we don't. Most of us have a kind of vague notion of living for a while. Barring illness or tragedy, we figure about 70-90 years. Maybe longer if science whips up some long life concoction someday. But there's no guarantee. We cannot count on time like we might check our bank balance. We cannot purchase more time. Time is literally priceless.

The good news is that, like money, time can be invested. You can take "right now" and invest it in something. Trouble is, too many of us will invest in something that pays temporary returns. A bit of pleasure here, a warm fuzzy there. A tickle of the taste buds, a cheap thrill, a new gadget--fill in the blank with any number of self-centered endeavors.

This is short-sighted investment at its worst. Why not invest your "right now" moments in something that will last. And not just last a lifetime. I'm talking FOREVER. The best investments are those that have a lot of time to earn returns. That's why someone who starts putting a hundred bucks a month into a savings account at age 20 will have so much more money at age 60 than someone who doesn't begin investing until age 40. And what if we knew exactly what to invest in? What if we had the world's greatest financial adviser to give us a serious trader tip? Sure fire, can't miss HUGE windfall investment tip? That would pretty much ROCK, right?

More good news: God is omniscient. He knows everything. And He gave us the greatest investment advice in the history of mankind. He told us just how to spend our time so that we would reap the greatest return. He said, "Love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. And love your neighbor" Matthew 22: 36-40 (*BPV, 2012)

Love God. Love others. That means spend your time for the benefit of God and mankind. If you do, you begin laying treasures up for yourself in heaven. Rewards, crowns, the coolest jobs, etc. etc. Sound good? Yeah, I think so. But it might sound a bit mercenary or materialistic to some. But why should it? God Himself tells us to lay up treasures for ourselves in heaven. God Himself promises the rewards.

In his book of essays, The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis addresses this issue. "Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

I could write on this topic so much more, but I can't afford the time. I've got some investing to do. How about you?

* BPV = Bat Paraphrase Version

What did 2009 Bring? Remember this?

Happy New Year! Do you remember this? Last year, I posted the challenge below. It's officially next year now. So I'm wondering how you all did? No resolutions really, just prayerful goals. I'll go first--that way you can all feel better if you blew it. ;-)

------Last year's post below:----------------------------------
 


Happy New Year! Whether you're a regular to EnterTheDoorWithin, a lurker, or a visitor, I hope the new year brings you all God's blessings.

Funny thing this year, when the ball dropped signaling the END of 2008, I actually felt a wave of relief wash over me. It was a tangible, visceral thing. When the last second of 2008 was gone and the promise of all things new in 2009 arrived, it felt pretty good.

Truth is, 2008 was a tough year for me. It was a tough year for a lot of people I love very much. Don't get me wrong. God has blessed me exceedingly. I'm alive. I have a lovely wife and four special children. We're all relatively healthy. I have dear friends, many of whom would run through a wall for me and I for them. I have two terrific jobs: I love to teach and I love to write. But still, it was a tough year. For Christians, however, we know that God is a redeemer, meaning that He can take any situation--even the worst--and bring good from it. I've already seen Him doing it in my own life and in the lives of friends and family.

All this to lead into an interesting activity my brother-in-law did at the New Year's party I attended. He gave everyone a slip of paper, told us to write our name on it, and then write down some goals and/or predictions for the coming year. The goal being that we'd seal all the papers from all the party attendees in an envelope and open it next year to see how things turned out.

That really got me thinking. A lot can happen in a year. So, I'd like to modify the activity for all you who visit here. Post a comment to this thread. Use your user name or real, whatever you will remember you used when you look back a year from now. In your comment, write any of three things:

1. Something difficult from 2008 that you pray God would redeem.
2. A prediction--something you think will happen over the coming year.
3. A goal; something you'd like to achieve.

You can write as many or as few as you'd like.

Then, next year, I will RE-POST the thread so we can all see how the year went. It's my hope that we will be able to Praise God for many things, and that maybe anyone who reads will think to pray for the others and their needs.

Mine will be the first comment. And again, I wish you the very best for 2009. Never alone.