Number Your Days

By Larry Pasley

     What are some of your favorite TV shows? What did you watch as a child? What do you watch as an adult?
     Between entertainment, news, sports, and education, the average person in the U.S. watches about 5 hours of TV each day. This averages out to about 9 years in one’s lifetime. The statistics regarding children and TV viewing are also staggering. Did you know that by the age of 18, the average child had seen 150,000 violent acts on TV? In a year a child has watched 16,000 30-second commercials. And, when asked if they would rather watch TV or spend time with their fathers, about 54 percent of children between the ages of 4 and 6 chose TV. For most of us, 9 years will be more than 10 percent of our lives. With that amount of time, Michelangelo could have painted two Sistine Chapels, John Milton could have written two Paradise Losts (which he did blind, by the way), and Lewis and Clark could have trekked North America four times over again.
     Author Malcolm Gladwell writes that it takes 10,000 hours of practice for someone to become an expert in their craft. That would be over one year of nonstop practice. Imagine becoming an expert in nine different things in the amount of time you watched TV
     TV is not bad. It is often beneficial. But, it is one example of how people often find unproductive things to occupy their minds.
     I know how much you love Duck Dynasty. It is hard to part with the wisdom of Uncle Si. So, this challenge is not necessarily one to ask you to do so; this is a challenge to put the priorities God has placed in your life first and then kick back with the Robertsons later.

WHERE TO TAKE THIS
1) Use your time wisely: Ephesians 5:16-17 says, “Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” As the body of Christ, let us not become complacent, idol, or indifferent. Let us be wise with our time and recognize the important things. What is your art? Don’t let laziness allow you to sacrifice the masterpieces that God is wanting to create through you.
2) Perspective on time: In psalms David asks God to “teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” When we understand how much time we truly have in this life, we become aware of the urgency of the calling God has placed in our lives.

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     We should ask ourselves, are we neglecting something more important while sitting in front of the TV set? Imagine how we could be spending this tie doing the work of the Lord, visiting the sick, shut-ins, the lost, wayward brethren, those who are weak spiritually etc.. Is this time we should be spending with our children or other family members? Is this time we should be spending with our mate, improving our relationship? Is this time we should be spending in the Word of God, growing spiritually? Is this time we should be spending doing good for those around us? May we number our days and ask ourselves if we are accomplishing the things which are most important with our time.

- Larry Pasley serves as a minister with the Jackson Street Church of Christ in Alexandria, LA. He may be contacted through the congregation's website at http://www.JacksonStAlex.com