The importance of time

Don-Martin Takudzwa Whande | Friday June 4, 2010 00:00

Although there is enough time for everyone to do all they desire, the unfortunate part that most people fail to decipher is the fact that our time on earth is limited.

As a matter of fact, time can be used wisely or wasted, time can be invested or squandered, but either way, it cannot be regained.

I solemnly believe that time is life because when time is gone so is life. Unlike other resources that can be recycled, every second gone by can never be obtained back. Since time cannot be recycled it is important to use it wisely, practically and effectively.

It is because of all these factors that I kindly recommend all brethren to reconsider and revise the ways they manage their time. Opportunities, indeed, come in seasons and cycles. But, everyday, each and every one of us is presented with circumstances that require us to take action and make a difference.

If we, as a Christian body, call ourselves 'world changers', then I believe we have the ability to make a difference today to our families, nation, friends, workplace amongst many other things and places that require immediate attention.

The real danger in neglecting to use time wisely today is that we might not be presented with those opportunities again in this lifetime.

The full blown effects of the slow neglect of the important and fundamental things today are disastrous in the near future. This is because things that are small today will be large tomorrow. I remember a script from William Shakespeare which read, 'There is a tide in the affairs of men, which when taken at flood, leads to fortune'. What Shakespeare meant was that our failure to passionately utilise circumstances during the seasons of opportunity results in the 'ifs and buts' of life. The spirit of procrastination (delaying or postponing action) has resulted in the destruction of good intentions and a lot of undesirable situations and outcomes in many families, nations and marriages. This is because the trivia of life and our failure to give attention to the essential and basic things sap our strength and divert us until the day comes when our resolve is gone. There are things that have to be done today because tomorrow might never come.

This is what I can refer to as the now moment because the opportunity is today, not tomorrow.In the time realm, it is important also to understand that 'deciding' is not 'doing'. Action is what is important because it brings the desired result.

I might decide to give someone a warning but if I do not go then it means I have not accomplished anything. The problem is that most people live with the ultimate folly thinking that they will do so forever.

Perhaps we should embrace and take Dr Martin Luther King's advice to live every day with the day of our death placarded before our eyes. Maybe humankind will then comprehend and use time wisely.

In conclusion time is limited and as long as we are alive, all opportunities should be made use of today not tomorrow. Our failure to make use of the moments in this life and the situations we are presented with is detrimental to the way we shape not only our lives but also of others destinies. Indeed there is great truth in the short pithy saying that, 'Let's make hay while the sun shines' because sooner or later, for you and me, time will be no more.

Time is life and the wise make every minute count.