Time is money? No. I have a full time job, so I know that's not true. I do get paid for my time, but I only get paid for my time in the office. No-one pays me to come home and have a meal with my wife. I don't have a salary for relaxing at the weekend. I don't claim trips to see family on expenses.
Some of the time I give my employer becomes money. But the rest of my time is just time. Not money.
Maybe they are comparable because I spend both of them. How do I spend time? Do I spend it the same way I spend money? Yes, I think I do. I think you do, too. People who hoard money and possessions as the most valuable thing in their lives often seem reluctant to spend much time relaxing without distractions. Rich people- despite being rich- seem very busy. Work hard, earn money, keep working hard. It looks, to an observer, like it might be difficult to break the cycle and really switch off from production mode.
But do I hear you saying that everybody falls into this category? Well, it's true that only a working man will earn a wage. But my thoughts are aimed more at the idea of this being a cycle that enslaves us. Does this have to be the case?
I think that it is possible to spend time and money without being enslaved to them. I think it is possible to make decisions without the first thoughts in your head being "Do I have enough time to do that?" and "Can I afford it?"
The main influences of my approach to finance as an adult have been the Gospels and the book of James in the New Testament, and the author Richard Foster.
In the Gospels, Jesus' teaching on money (his most talked about subject) is effectively to stop worrying about it. Be sensible, but don't worry about it. Feel free to spend it on things that God wants it to be spent on, because God will then take care of your basic needs (Matt 6:33).
The book of James is written to the Church in Jerusalem, which had a strong rich-poor contrast in the membership. James is a very black and white book- he shows nothing but contempt for anyone who is rich. Why? Because in that culture, an individual only became rich, and stayed that way, by exploiting others. Surely today is a very different case? Well, I'm not so sure. Anyone born in the west is born "rich" by global standards, and we can't be blamed for that. But what about if we stay so wealthy when we are older, despite being aware of the needs of others?
So there is no need to worry about money, and no good reason in this broken world to keep so much of it. Richard Foster in his book Money, Sex and Power talks about how to apply this in daily life. How, he asks, do we dethrone the powerful pound? What action will strip money of it's quiet, poisonous whispers that we need it? Being "sensible" in the average sense will not be enough- sensible implies playing it safe. Safe implies saving a portion of what you receive. Saving can be the polite word for hoarding, which stems from insecurity and greed. We need to go further than "sensible" to perform this heart surgery. We need to strip money of its power by using it the one way it is not supposed to be used:
Money has taken on a sacred character in our world, and it would do us good to find ways to defame it, defile it, and trample it under our feet.
So step on it. Yell at it. Laugh at it. List it way down on the scale of values – certainly far below friendship and cheerful surroundings. And engage in the most profane act of all – give it away. The powers that energise money cannot abide that most unnatural of acts, giving. Money is made for taking, for bargaining, for manipulating, but not for giving. This is exactly why giving has such ability to defeat the powers of money.
Foster makes the distinction that to just throw money away to nowhere is a waste, which is probably the twin-sin at the opposite end from greed. Specifically, we need to give it to other people, because friendships are the currency in the next life. Treasure in heaven is planted as love on earth.
So how do I spend time?
I do not need to worry about time, because God will provide enough for everything that matters. I do not need to desperately squeeze the most value out of every minute I am awake, because by doing so I would be depriving others of my calm company. Finally, the best way to dethrone time as the ruler of my heart and decisions is to freely give it away to others.
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