At a recent stewardship conference. I engaged in a conversation with a missionary who will move his family to Kenya. Discussing the culture and financial difficulties of the Kenyans, he relayed a comment from one of the locals:
“You have a Timex, we have time.”
Ouch – that hurt, as the truth usually does. Pondering that quote lead me to better understand the true meaning of stewardship. Much of Christendom defines stewardship as being out of debt with a savings account and on a budget. While they are good stewardship behaviors, they lack the importance of having the appropriate ‘why’. Why do you want to get out of debt? Why do you want a budget? Is it for your security, or is it for God’s eventual use?
In America we have too much stuff – let's consider time pieces. For example, I have a watch on my arm, a cell phone that always has the correct time, a clock on my computer, a clock on my car's dashboard, a grandfather clock that reminds me of the time every 15 minutes, and a siren that goes off at noon on the first Wednesday of every month. There is never a time when I do not know the time! But, I ask, do I have time? How much time do I spend keeping track of the time?
The Kenyan man has it right – he knows time is far more important than knowing the time. Having gone to Mexico on stewardship teaching trips, it never ceases to frustrate me how late Mexican citizens are to church. It is commonplace to show up at noon for an 11:30am service. My frustrations with this tardiness reveal that I place more importance on timeliness than I do on having time. Many Mexican citizens, while lacking material wealth, have plenty of time so they can stay focused on being present. If enjoying a family meal, they will stay until the meal naturally ends, not having some arbitrary endpoint because they need to be somewhere else 'on time'. In America, eating at restaurants carries an unspoken expectation that meals are eaten quickly so the restaurant can turn over the tables.
If you have taken the time to read this far, you may be asking what you should do with this information. Well, I suggest the following:
1. Look at all your time-telling devices as reminders of how precious your time is on Earth.
2. Be present with your family and put your time-telling phones away.
3. Review how you spend your time – how much is for you and how much is for others.
4. Go a day without your Timexes and see how you spend your time. Will you spend more time with others and less time on tasking?
5. Before buying something, determine how long you must work to pay for it. Is this item worth the time cost?
If we have the attitude that our time is from God and should glorify him, our Timexes will become a thing of the past. Funny I should say this, as I am anxiously waiting for the arrival of a beautiful watch that my sweet wife got me for my birthday. Yes, my days are numbered!