Day 1:
Wisdom counts
“Teach us to number our days. that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).
Years ago, I saw a segment on a television show featuring a watch with a very interesting purpose. Programmed with life expectancy and lifestyle data, the watch counts down the lifespan of an individual, literally marking off life in hours, minutes and seconds!
Curious as to whether such a product survived (no pun intended!), I recently checked to see if the watch is still in existence. Apparently, it is! I’m not sure if the current product is from the same inventors I saw all those years ago, but the concept is the same.
The so-called “death watch” is marketed as a means of creating awareness of the brevity of life—to encourage emphasis on intentionality, focus, and meaning. But as I explored some of the reactions to the invention, I found recurring themes such as “creepy,” “morbid,” and “uncomfortable.” Such a stark reminder of our mortality does not seem to sit well with many people!
Yet, centuries ago, Moses similarly contemplated our "passing days" and asked God for a constant awareness of our temporary timeline. “Teach us to number our days,” he prayed, “that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
As I contemplate Moses’ words, “a heart of wisdom,” I think of the numerous comments I have heard and read, about living in the light of life’s brevity. Many seem to focus on “enjoyment”—enjoyment of life, enjoyment of family, enjoyment of pleasure, enjoyment of luxury, enjoyment of opportunity.
So I wondered, Is “enjoyment” the focus of a heart of wisdom? Does it matter how we define "enjoyment?" Should enjoyment of this finite life be our sole focus, or should our hearts be seeking and preparing for the next?
I thought of a parable Jesus told in Luke 12: 13-21. It started when He was asked to intervene in a sibling feud over an inheritance. His response was a very pointed and probably very unexpected warning about preoccupation with greed and possessions (Luke 12:15). Then He tells a parable about a rich man, who, in a time of super-abundance, made plans to take his “enjoyment,” his self-focus, his self-indulgence to a whole new level:
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself'" (Luke 12:18-20)?
Jesus wraps up the parable by clarifying what the issue is: “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God” (vs. 21).
It isn't at all about enjoyment—God is the source of all blessing (James 1:17), and does not deny us enjoyment. Rather, it is about the obscene, all-consuming focus on self—on living for self, on endlessly accumulating for self, on disregarding all but self. It is the supreme arrogance of disregarding and discounting the sovereignty and will of the God who provides—an arrogance Scripture warns against in 1 Timothy 6:17.
Solomon had much to say about this in the Old Testament. Blessed by God with great wealth, he understood that the ability to “enjoy” is a gift from God (Ecclesiastes 8:15).
But eventually, a life filled with indulgences and excesses showed him the emptiness, the “meaningless, meaningless” nature of life without a God-directed purpose (Ecclesiastes 1:1).
And finally, he understood the one essential: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Because at the end of it all, says Solomon, "God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil" (vs.14).
I pray for a heart of wisdom that cherishes family and friends, that loves and cares for people, that gratefully enjoys God’s blessings, and that makes the most of every opportunity. But I want a heart of wisdom that most of all reveres God and seeks His purpose, understanding that I was created by His will to please Him (Revelation 4:11).
I don’t want a watch that counts down my remaining time—after all, "My times are in [God’s] hand" (Psalm 31:15). But I do want to number my days and to make them count, praying as Moses did, “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands” (Psalm 90:17).
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