Time Poor?

     I hope you have the time to read this. Almost everyone claims to be “time poor” these days. I have known the feeling at times when I’m done before the day is done before the work is done. 

     Being “time poor” has become worse in the 21st century with the proliferation of electronic devises that claim our attention 24/7. It is easy to become so attached to these sociological soldering irons, now permanently in our faces. Pedestrians and motorists have come to grief because they have been too pre-occupied with them that they lose focus on how they are travelling.

     Because of these handy implements each meant to save time, we have become busier than ever to the extent that roses have gone un-smelt, music un-heard, views un-watched, and human beings un-eyeballed.

     When the BBC interviewer David Frost was asked what it was like to have become one of the first broadcasters to have become a millionaire, he wistfully observed that he still only had 24 hours in the day. It’s the same with us, no matter what labour-saving gadgets we possess (or vice versa). The sun still rises and sets around the same time it always has. The clock at Greenwich Observatory occasionally adjusts the time by a second but by the time we’ve heard about it, we’ve wasted all that advantage.

     All this brings back to mind the story of Martha and Mary of Bethany, told in Luke 10:38-42, of the time Jesus was invited into their house. Many hackles have been raised in defence of Martha who was left to do all the work while Mary sat dreamily at Jesus’ feet, taking in what he was saying. Overworked wives and mothers, particularly have come to Martha’s defence when husbands have been watching football on TV and teenage children have their heads buried in computer games.

     Jesus shrewdly pointed out, though, that the problem was not that Martha was busy but she was busy being busy. She was not about to sit down with Jesus and Mary any time soon, no matter what had been accomplished. Martha would have seen herself as “time poor”. The more that was done the more was seen to be needed to be done. In Jesus’ words, Martha was anxious and distressed to the end of her tether. Mary was the one who was at peace.

     When you look at it, how can one be “time poor” when each of us, like David Frost, has no more or less time than anyone else? In our overly materialist world, it is so easy not only to become greedy when we keep wanting things but also to be “time-greedy” when we want more time than the 24 hours allotted to us.

     When he came to Bethany, Jesus wanted some one to talk to rather than the silver service. Luke has included this story in his Gospel because listening to Jesus becomes what is most important. What would Jesus say when we tell him we are “time-poor”?