The first general instrument of Holy Living, Care of our Time.
The Stewardship of Time
We are called to account for our time before God, recognizing that our earthly duties are part of our spiritual responsibility.
Whoever is careful with his time will also be careful about his company and careful about his actions—so that the first doesn't pull him into vanity and loss, and so that the latter, by being sinful, doesn't throw away both his time and himself and set him back in the accounts of eternity. God has given us only a short time on earth, yet eternity depends on it. We must give an account to the great Judge of men and angels for every hour of our lives once we are capable of moral law and know good from evil.✦✦ Our blessed Savior told us that we must account for every idle word. He doesn't mean that every word not intended to build someone up, or every less prudent word, will be counted as a sin; rather, it is the time we spend in idle talk and useless conversation—time that could and should have been used for spiritual and useful purposes—that we must account for.✦✦ We must remember that we have a great work to do: many enemies to conquer, many evils to prevent, much danger to pass through, many difficulties to master, many necessities to meet, and much good to do; many children to provide for, or many friends to support, or many of the poor to relieve, or many diseases to cure—besides the needs of nature and of our relationships, our private and public cares, and the duties of the world, which necessity and the providence of God have adopted into the family of religion.
Vocation as Divine Service
Our worldly work, when performed with holy intention, serves as a valid expression of devotion and a safeguard against idleness.
To ensure we don't fear this instrument will become a snare, or that our duty will end in anxiety, frustration, and endless worry, we must remember that everyone's life can—and must—be ordered so that it becomes a continual service to God. Even the greatest trouble, the busiest trade, and the heaviest worldly burdens, when they are necessary, charitable, or useful toward the ends we are bound to serve, are themselves a way of doing God's work. God provides the good things of the world to meet our natural needs through the labor of the farmer, the skill and effort of the artisan, and the risks and trade of the merchant. These people are, in their callings, ministers of Divine Providence, stewards of creation, and servants of God’s great family—the world—as they work to secure necessities for food, clothing, ornament, and medicine.1 In their own way, a king, a priest, a prophet, a judge, and an advocate are all doing God’s work when they perform their duties according to their proper rules. They serve the necessities that God has created, yet provided for only through their ministry.2 So, no one can complain that their calling takes them away from a religious life. The calling itself, and even worldly employment in honest trades and offices, is a way of serving God. If it is pursued moderately and according to the rules of Christian prudence, it will leave enough space for prayer and the quiet withdrawals of a more spiritual devotion.3 God has given everyone enough work to do so there isn't any room for idleness, yet he has ordered the world so there is still space for devotion. The person who has the fewest worldly affairs is called to spend more time working the soil; and the one who has the most business can order it so that it becomes a service of God—while at set times those affairs are blessed with prayers and acts of religion, and all day long they are hallowed by a holy intention.4
The Danger of Idleness
Idleness is a destructive waste of life that invites temptation, and we must adopt specific rules to guard our time.
However, as long as idleness is completely shut out of our lives, all the sins of wantonness, soft living, and self-indulgent ease are prevented, and there's little room left for temptation; and so, for a busy person, temptation has to climb up together with their work, and sins creep up on them only by chance accidents and occasions; whereas for an idle person they come in full force, with open violence and the shameless boldness of a restless, insistent pressure.5 Idleness is called "the sin of Sodom and her daughters" in Ezekiel.✦ 16. 49. In fact, it's "the burial of a living man." An idle person is so useless to God and humanity that they're like someone who's dead—unconcerned with the changes and needs of the world, living only to pass the time and consume the earth's resources. Like vermin or a wolf, when their time comes, they die and perish; in the meantime, they do no good. They neither plow nor carry burdens; everything they do is either useless or harmful.6 Idleness is the greatest waste in the world; it throws away what is invaluable while you still have it, and once it's gone, nothing can repair the loss—no amount of skill or nature can recover it. But we can practice how to safeguard and make better use of our time by following these rules.
Read the original Latin
He that is choice of his time will also be choice of his company, and choice of his actions; lest the first engage him in vanity and loss; and the latter, by being criminal, be a throwing his time and himself away, and a going back in the accounts of eternity.
God hath given to man a short time here upon earth, and yet upon this short time eternity depends: but so, that for every hour of our life (after we are persons capable of laws, and know good from evil) we must give account to the great Judge of men and angels. And this is it which our blessed Saviour told us, that we must account for every idle word; not meaning that every word which is not designed to edification, or is less prudent, shall be reckoned for a sin; but that the time which we spend in our idle talking and unprofitable discoursings; that time which might and ought to have been employed to spiritual and useful purposes — that is to be accounted for.
For we must remember that we have a great work to do, many enemies to conquer, many evils to prevent, much danger to run through, many difficulties to be mastered, many necessities to serve, and much good to do; many children to provide for, or many friends to support, or many poor to relieve, or many diseases to cure; besides the needs of nature and of relation, our private and our public cares, and duties of the world, which necessity and the providence of God have adopted into the family of religion.
And that we need not fear this instrument to be a snare to us, or that the duty must end in scruple, vexation, and eternal fears, we must remember, that the life of every man may be so ordered (and indeed must) that it may be a perpetual serving of God: the greatest trouble and most busy trade and worldly encumbrances, when they are necessary, or charitable, or profitable in order to any of those ends which we are bound to serve, whether public or private, being a doing of God’s work. For God provides the good things of the world to serve the needs of nature, by the labours of the ploughman the skill and pains of the artisan, and the dangers and traffic of the merchant: these men are, in their callings, the ministers of the Divine Providence, and the stewards of the creation, and servants of a great family of God, the world, in the employment of procuring necessities for food and clothing, ornament, and physic. In their proportions also, a king and a priest and a prophet, a judge and an advocate, doing the works of their employment according to their proper rules, are doing the work of God; because they serve those necessities which God hath made, and yet made no provisions for them, but by their ministry. So that no man can complain that his calling takes him off from religion; his calling itself, and his very worldly employment in honest trades and offices, is a serving of God; and, if it be moderately pursued and according to the rules of Christian prudence, will leave void spaces enough for prayers and retirements of a more spiritual religion.
God has given every man work enough to do, that there shall be no room for idleness; and yet hath so ordered the world, that there shall be space for devotion. He that hath the fewest businesses of the world is called upon to spend more time in the dressing of the soil; and he that hath the most affairs may so order them that they shall be a service of God; whilst at certain periods, they are blessed with prayers and actions of religion, and all day long are hallowed by a holy intention.
However, so long as idleness is quite shut out from our lives, all the sins of wantonness, softness, and effeminacy, are prevented and there is but little room left for temptation; and, therefore, to a busy man temptation is fain to climb up together with his business, and sins creep upon him only by accidents and occasions; whereas, to an idle person they come in a full body, and with open violence and the impudence of a restless importunity.
Idleness is called ‘the sin of Sodom and her daughters,’Ezek. xvi. 49. and indeed is “the burial of a living man;” an idle person being so useless to any purpose of God and man, that he is like one that is dead, unconcerned in the changes and necessities of the world; and he only lives to spend his time, and to eat the fruits of the earth; like a vermin or a wolf, when their time comes they die and perish, and in the meantime do no good; they neither plough nor carry burdens; all that they do is either unprofitable or mischievous.
Idleness is the greatest prodigality in the world; it throws away that which is invaluable in respect of its present use, and irreparable when it is past, being to be recovered by no power of art or nature. But the way to secure and improve our time we may practise in the following rules.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Gen.3.5;Deut.1.39;Heb.5.14 — for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Deut.1.39 — And your little ones, whom you said would be carried off, and your children, who today do not yet know good from evil—they shall enter there, and to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. Heb.5.14 — But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
- ↩Rom.14.12;Heb.4.13;2Cor.5.10;Matt.25.31-Matt.25.32 — So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Heb.4.13 — And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. 2Cor.5.10 — For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what has been done through the body, whether good or evil. Matt.25.31 — When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Matt.25.32 — And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
- ↩Matt.12.36 — But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they will give an account for it on the day of judgment.
- ↩Eph.4.29;1Cor.14.26 — Let no rotten word proceed from your mouth, but only what is good for building up as the need may be, so that it may give grace to those who hear. 1Cor.14.26 — What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
- ↩Ezek.16.49 — Now this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: pride, abundance of bread, and careless ease were hers and her daughters, and she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and the needy.
Notes
- 1 ↩Source 'physic' rendered as 'medicine' (early modern sense of medical remedy, not physics).
- 2 ↩Source 'In their proportions' rendered as 'In their own measure' (each office in its due share/scale).
- 3 ↩Source 'retirements' rendered as 'quiet withdrawals' (private withdrawal for devotion, not leaving a job).
- 4 ↩"dressing of the soil" rendered as working/cultivating the land (agricultural labor for those with few worldly businesses), not grooming or ornamental care.
- 5 ↩Period moral sense of softness/effeminacy is luxurious, self-indulgent moral weakness, not modern gender categories; rendered as 'soft living' and 'self-indulgent ease'.
- 6 ↩Source "mischievous" means harmful or destructive, not playful; rendered "harmful."
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