May 1, 2024

Wednesday Word:  Time and Productivity

I’m rereading a book called Life on the Vine, and there’s a section where the author discusses time and productivity.  It’s not a deep dive into these topics, but he brings up some points about how different cultures view time and when western culture first segmented and regulated time into hours, minutes, and seconds.  European monks, with their scheduled prayer life, were the first to use mechanical clocks, with the earliest known clock being built sometime in 996.

But this tool originally designed to help keep the monks’ prayer life ordered soon became society’s task master.  We now get up when the clock tells us to so we can eat breakfast so we can be to work on time so we can take lunch at noon so we can clock out at five so we can be home to eat dinner and go to bed early enough to be rested for when the clock tells us to get up and do it all again.  Companies tell us when and where to report to and how much we need to get done in order to be productive.  So much of our lives revolve around the clock and how we view productivity.

We see this in phrases like, “spending time,” or “wasting time.”  When we go on vacation, people want to know what we did, and seem to be disappointed if we tell them, “Nothing.”

This focus on time and productivity even shows up in church.  I’ve known people who got upset with me if Sunday service went longer than an hour fifteen.  Depending on the service, sometimes they were upset if service went longer than 55 minutes.  The author wonders, “Given the time spent at church, are they disappointed they didn’t get more out of it?”  But we need to remember:  it isn’t what we get out of it, it’s what we put into it for God.

To combat the oppressiveness of the clock and the Protestant work ethic of being productive, here are some ideas for you to consider.  Visit a friend or acquaintance with no more intention than to simply be with them for a period of time, and leave your watch at home.  Refocus your point of view so that church isn’t about what you get out of it in 60-75 minutes, or about getting to breakfast on time, but how you work to connect with God during that period.  With the warmer weather, sit outside and listen to the world.

What if God’s idea of time and productivity are how we spend it with him and what we learn about him?

Blessings,