Living in the Moment
It seems to me that the older I get the faster time goes by. I’ve learned recently that there’s a scientific reason for this. Researchers suggests that our aging brain along with life experiences can affect how we perceive the passing of time. One key factor, says one study, has to do with the way our brains store memory.
So, when life gets to be routine, you store less memory or it all gets condensed in your brain, and your days get all lumped together. And as a result, the weeks seem to go by faster.
However, there are times, even as adults, when times seem to stand still. These moments can be life or death situations or amazing moments like the birth of a child or gazing upon something extraordinarily beautiful, like the Grand Canyon or the sun rising over the ocean.
What, if anything, can we do as we grow older, to slow time down when it seems to be speeding up? One researcher noted:
In light of what researchers are just discovering about why time for some seems to be moving so fast, and what they suggest can help, I submit to you that they’re just catching up to what the scriptures teach.
God’s word is full of instructions about slowing down the pace of life, and more importantly, slowing down our hurried and distracted souls. (See Psalm 1:1-3; 46:10; 90:12.)
One of the main reason why time seems to be moving so fast is because we are moving too fast.
Once when I was a rookie police officer, my field training officer made an observation about my driving that stuck with me. He said, "Are you going somewhere I don’t know about?" I said, "No." He replied, “Then why are you driving so fast? We are on patrol. Slow down and observe your surroundings.”
There are times as a police officer when we have to drive fast in an emergency. But while on routine patrol, we have to slow down. We must be observant and aware of what’s going on around us; the sights, the sounds, something that might be out of the ordinary. We need to be focused not distracted.
Likewise, in our every day lives we need to slow down lest we miss precious moments that are meant for us to enjoy or opportunities that we need to seize to make a difference in a person’s life.
Often what we are thinking about is how much we can accomplish in a short amount of time. Although it’s wise to plan out our day and week for maximum efficiency, it’s even more important that we create margin in our lives to see what God wants us to see and not allow important moments to pass us by.
In Ephesians 5:15, the apostle Paul exhorted believers to:
Often when this passage of scripture is referenced, the word “time” is defined as linear or clock time. But the Greek word “kairos” does not refer to the passage of time. The Greek word for linear time or clock time is "chronos."
In ancient Greek culture and philosophy, "kairos" refers to a specific, opportune moment often considered a "right time" to act where the potential for significant change is high. Again, "chronos" on the other hand, represents the linear, measured passage of time; 24/7 time.
So contrary to what we usually think, in Ephesians 5:15, Paul is not advising you to plan your week out by using a daily planner, as important as that may be. Rather, what Paul is exhorting believers to do is to redeem the moments, especially divine moments and opportunities. Don’t be so rigid and self-focused about your own plans that you miss what God is doing around you. Instead of just passively going through your day, be mindful of potential moments where you can make a positive impact, no matter how small, and actively choose to act on them when they arise.
As Daniel Henderson put it, “The key to daily impact is to find “kairos” in the chaos of your “chronos.”
In other words, to make a significant difference each day, you need to actively identify and seize opportune moments ("kairos") within the seemingly ordinary flow of time ("chronos"), even when your schedule is busy or chaotic.
If a co-worker, for example, is struggling with a work assignment, offering to help during a brief break could be a "kairos" moment to make a meaningful connection. On your drive home from work, taking a call from a friend who needs a listening ear could be a "kairos" moment to show support and give encouragement.
Again, one of the reasons why time seems to go by so fast is because we are moving too fast, and not just with our feet. Our minds are sometimes going a hundred miles an hour and our souls are often hurried and restless. As a result we fail to live in the karios/moment.
It’s important to note that there’s a difference between living in the moment and living for the moment. I appreciate how one Christian author defined the difference:
So how can we make the best use of the time God has given us and how can we redeem the moments? We need to slow down not just our feet, but our minds and our souls. We need to create margin and make space for God. Before we do anything, we need to wake up every morning, and declare as the Psalmist:
The word of God exhorts us to rejoice in the Lord and give thanks in, not for, every circumstance (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
When we begin our day by acknowledging that God is in control and fixing our minds on the redeeming love of Jesus, we can find rest for our hurried souls. Moreover, we need to pray without ceasing, we need to maintain a conscious awareness of God, and be on the look out for those divine moments so that we might seize them.
Are you missing those precious moments? God is saying to you: “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
O may the Lord give us the grace in His presence to slow down so that we can find “kairos” in the chaos of your “chronos" and make a difference for Christ in time and in eternity.
-Pastor Marco
“The brain encodes novel experiences much more richly than it does every day, ordinary experiences. It’s like novelty is stored as HD, but for experiences that we’ve already had several times, the brain doesn’t need to expend as much energy storing them. Unless there’s something different about them, the brain just encodes a faint trace. This is why you can easily recall the details of any new experience, but forget what you had for lunch last Wednesday."
So, when life gets to be routine, you store less memory or it all gets condensed in your brain, and your days get all lumped together. And as a result, the weeks seem to go by faster.
However, there are times, even as adults, when times seem to stand still. These moments can be life or death situations or amazing moments like the birth of a child or gazing upon something extraordinarily beautiful, like the Grand Canyon or the sun rising over the ocean.
What, if anything, can we do as we grow older, to slow time down when it seems to be speeding up? One researcher noted:
“The most obvious is to keep introducing newness into our lives by, for example, visiting new places, learning new hobbies, and meeting new people. Alternately - and perhaps more effectively – we can also slow down time by living [more in the moment], paying conscious attention to our day-to-day experiences of seeing, hearing, feeling and so on.” (Source)
In light of what researchers are just discovering about why time for some seems to be moving so fast, and what they suggest can help, I submit to you that they’re just catching up to what the scriptures teach.
God’s word is full of instructions about slowing down the pace of life, and more importantly, slowing down our hurried and distracted souls. (See Psalm 1:1-3; 46:10; 90:12.)
One of the main reason why time seems to be moving so fast is because we are moving too fast.
Once when I was a rookie police officer, my field training officer made an observation about my driving that stuck with me. He said, "Are you going somewhere I don’t know about?" I said, "No." He replied, “Then why are you driving so fast? We are on patrol. Slow down and observe your surroundings.”
There are times as a police officer when we have to drive fast in an emergency. But while on routine patrol, we have to slow down. We must be observant and aware of what’s going on around us; the sights, the sounds, something that might be out of the ordinary. We need to be focused not distracted.
Likewise, in our every day lives we need to slow down lest we miss precious moments that are meant for us to enjoy or opportunities that we need to seize to make a difference in a person’s life.
Often what we are thinking about is how much we can accomplish in a short amount of time. Although it’s wise to plan out our day and week for maximum efficiency, it’s even more important that we create margin in our lives to see what God wants us to see and not allow important moments to pass us by.
In Ephesians 5:15, the apostle Paul exhorted believers to:
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”
Often when this passage of scripture is referenced, the word “time” is defined as linear or clock time. But the Greek word “kairos” does not refer to the passage of time. The Greek word for linear time or clock time is "chronos."
In ancient Greek culture and philosophy, "kairos" refers to a specific, opportune moment often considered a "right time" to act where the potential for significant change is high. Again, "chronos" on the other hand, represents the linear, measured passage of time; 24/7 time.
So contrary to what we usually think, in Ephesians 5:15, Paul is not advising you to plan your week out by using a daily planner, as important as that may be. Rather, what Paul is exhorting believers to do is to redeem the moments, especially divine moments and opportunities. Don’t be so rigid and self-focused about your own plans that you miss what God is doing around you. Instead of just passively going through your day, be mindful of potential moments where you can make a positive impact, no matter how small, and actively choose to act on them when they arise.
As Daniel Henderson put it, “The key to daily impact is to find “kairos” in the chaos of your “chronos.”
In other words, to make a significant difference each day, you need to actively identify and seize opportune moments ("kairos") within the seemingly ordinary flow of time ("chronos"), even when your schedule is busy or chaotic.
If a co-worker, for example, is struggling with a work assignment, offering to help during a brief break could be a "kairos" moment to make a meaningful connection. On your drive home from work, taking a call from a friend who needs a listening ear could be a "kairos" moment to show support and give encouragement.
Again, one of the reasons why time seems to go by so fast is because we are moving too fast, and not just with our feet. Our minds are sometimes going a hundred miles an hour and our souls are often hurried and restless. As a result we fail to live in the karios/moment.
It’s important to note that there’s a difference between living in the moment and living for the moment. I appreciate how one Christian author defined the difference:
“Living for the moment is living with a short-term perspective; living in the moment is learning to live in today so as not to allow yesterday or tomorrow to rob us of today’s joys. So often we are living in yesterday or tomorrow. That is exactly what Jesus taught us not to do.” (Source)
So how can we make the best use of the time God has given us and how can we redeem the moments? We need to slow down not just our feet, but our minds and our souls. We need to create margin and make space for God. Before we do anything, we need to wake up every morning, and declare as the Psalmist:
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24
The word of God exhorts us to rejoice in the Lord and give thanks in, not for, every circumstance (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
“God is in control, and therefore in everything I can [rejoice and] give thanks - not because of the situation but because of the One who directs and rules over it.” -Kay Arthur
When we begin our day by acknowledging that God is in control and fixing our minds on the redeeming love of Jesus, we can find rest for our hurried souls. Moreover, we need to pray without ceasing, we need to maintain a conscious awareness of God, and be on the look out for those divine moments so that we might seize them.
Are you missing those precious moments? God is saying to you: “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
O may the Lord give us the grace in His presence to slow down so that we can find “kairos” in the chaos of your “chronos" and make a difference for Christ in time and in eternity.
-Pastor Marco