A Clear Vision Of Time Wasted
We are wasting our time. It doesn’t matter how or when or even why; it’s simply a fact. In high school, I can see this clearly. Everyone does just enough to get by, and then squanders the rest of their time. Whether “getting by” is an A or a C according to an individual’s standards is inconsequential because they’re still doing the least amount of work possible.
Even in the case of everyday tasks, we spend most of our time procrastinating so as to feel the slightest sense of control, and other time is generally spent wishing we were somewhere else. We are blessed with opportunity and privilege and choice, yet we couldn’t be more ready to skip every Monday through Friday, household chore, or drab task.
Time is money, and money is meant to be invested and spent wisely. Why, then, do we not invest and spend our time more cautiously? In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells us the parable of the talents. A master gave some talents to his servants for keeping while he went on a trip. One man received five, another received two, and the other, one. The ones with five and two went out, invested their talents, and received double the talents. The man with one, however, buried it in the ground because he was afraid of the consequences if he lost it. Their master came back and wanted his talents back. He was pleased with the first two for investing wisely, and furious with the third for not trying. Our lives and opportunities are these talents.
We should invest in our schoolwork, and ask ourselves how we can understand and internalize and apply what we learn. We should readily commit to daily tasks and work projects. We should stop procrastinating and spend that time on more useful and fruitful things.
As Erma Bombeck said, “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.’” Rather than bemoaning the state of our grades and swiping through Snapchat articles searching for an excuse to not do our work, we should find a reason to make everything we do hold significance. Anything we dare to spend our limited time on should be worthwhile.
Instead of procrastinating and doing the least possible work to survive the next day, we should assign value to all the work we do. There is value in learning and reinforcing concepts. There is value in presenting the highest quality work you can manage. We should recognize this and try to obtain it, so as to improve ourselves and invest in a more successful future by building up a wealth of knowledge and experience. No longer should we hide from tomorrow and its demands; today, we will pursue it. Today we will make everything we do count towards a better day.
