Good morning…

I will always remember one phrase shared in our young moms’ class this semester: “I would rather be late than be yelling.” I ponder the roots beneath the fruits of this statement.

The ancient Greeks had two words for time, chronos and kairos. Chronos refers to clock time, time that can be measured in seconds and minutes, hours and years. Think chronological and anachronism (belonging to an earlier time). Chronos time is quantitative as opposed to kairos time, which is qualitative. Kairos measures moments, not seconds, referring to the right moment, the opportune moment, the perfect moment. In Christian theology, kairos is referred to as a sense of ‘ripeness’.

For example, in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 we read: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted…” and so on. It is important to realize that in the first Greek translations of the Bible, each use of the word ‘time’ in the above passage is rendered as kairos, not chronos.

Paul also speaks of kairos time in Ephesians 5:15-16a (NIV): Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time… Can’t you hear Paul encouraging all of us, “Cooperate with God’s kairos. Pay attention to the present moment. Seize today’s ripe opportunities.”

We only have such a handful of brief moments to shepherd young children, to be with a loved one experiencing pain, to offer Christ’s healing presence to this hurting world. Instead of viewing our time as merely seconds ticking by, we learn that not every second holds the same worth. Some ripe moments are truly more valuable than others, but we can not set our alarm clock for their arrival or pencil their appearance into our day planner. Being keenly aware of God’s power at work in our everyday lives, might we begin to organize our chronos schedule with more margin to breathe freely into kairos opportunities?

I learned one final thing as I prayerfully researched these concepts. Interestingly, ancient Indians had the same divided notions of time: chronological and kairotic. To me ‘kairotic’ looks very similar to ‘chaotic.’ Be prepared. As we shift our mindset from chronos to kairos, from minutes to meaning, from ‘ten minutes early’ to ‘in step with God’s time,’ we may first feel ‘chaotic’ before experiencing the peace of putting down the world’s stop watch.

Therefore see that you walk carefully [living life with honor, purpose, and courage; shunning those who tolerate and enable evil], not as the unwise, but as wise [sensible, intelligent, discerning people], making the very most of your time [on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence]… (Ephesians 5:15-16a, AMP).

Can’t you hear the LORD whispering, “Yell less. Seize more?”

…Sue…