Psalm 39:6-11 (CEB)

Yes, people wander around like shadows;
    yes, they hustle and bustle, but pointlessly;
        they don’t even know who will get the wealth they’ve amassed.
So now, Lord, what should I be waiting for?
        My hope is set on you.
Deliver me from all my sins;
    don’t make me some foolish person’s joke.
I am completely silent; I won’t open my mouth
    because you have acted.
10 Get this plague of yours off me!
    I’m being destroyed by the blows from your fist.
11 You discipline people for their sin, punishing them;
    like a moth, you ruin what they treasure.
        Yes, a human life is just a puff of air! 


Reflection

The hardest thing in life is probably this: to discern what truly matters, and consistently choose it.

Today’s scripture puts it well: “they hustle and bustle, but pointlessly.”

The Bible reminds us over and over that life is short, that our days pass rapidly – that, in the words of this passage, “human life is just a puff of air.” We can read verses like that and despair at our mortality and finitude. Or, we can take them for what I believe God means them to be: a challenge to choose wisely.

Every day is a challenge to decide what we will prioritize: work, family, relationships, health, learning, hobbies, service to others, our spiritual lives. The fact that you’re reading this shows that at least in this moment, you have decided that learning and growing in your faith is important.

Maybe today is the day that you take the time to ponder again what’s really important, and whether you’ve allowed your daily life to become out of step with your stated priorities. It’s easy to do. You may have set certain goals for yourself: say, having a date night with your partner twice a month, or working out four times a week, or seeing your grandkids more than twice a year. How are you doing on those goals? What do you need to recommit yourself to? Are there different choices you need to make today in order to make those things happen?

Life is too short to spend our time without stopping to consider how we’re spending that time. How are your choices leading you in the direction of what truly matters?

By Joe Monahan


For Pondering & Prayer

There is more to life than simply increasing its speed.

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

Prayer: God, we are mortal beings with eternity in our minds. Help us today to invest our time in the things that last for eternity: faith, and love, and giving hope to others. Amen.