Sweet Brown is an Oklahoma City resident who was interviewed by local news station KFOR News Channel 4 after evacuating from her apartment building that was set on fire last spring. Her dramatic testimony of the chaotic scene quickly led to massive exposure on YouTube and became viral.
On the morning of April 7th, 2012, a three-alarm fire broke out at an Oklahoma City apartment complex in Oklahoma, leaving one person hospitalized for smoke inhalation and five units damaged. The local station KFOR News Channel 4 was among the first to arrive on the scene and interview one of the displaced residents Sweet Brown. During the interview, she stated that she had woken up to get a “cold pop” when she thought someone was grilling before she realized there was a fire. Brown then proceeded to run out of the apartment without shoes. In describing the heavy presence of smoke from the fire, she uttered “ain’t nobody got time for that!” which became one of the more memorable lines.
This is Sweet Brown and the cause for her popularity:
VIDEO: “Aint Nobody Got Time For That”
If that video made you smile or laugh despite the travesty of the fire, then you know why Sweet Brown has become so many people’s favorite. The video has been viewed more than 12 million times since being uploaded on Apr 9, 2012.
Sweet Brown is so popular in fact, or at least her catchphrase is, that many have been using “ain’t nobody got time for that!” in everyday communications.
We are busy people. It seems no matter what time of the year it is, we always are busy with this or that. Just because we’re busy doesn’t mean we’re being effective for Jesus. Just because we’re busy doesn’t mean we’re getting things done His kingdom. Just because we’re around people all the time doesn’t mean that we’re connecting people to Jesus.
What happens when the “ain’t nobody got time for that” extends to others? Or important things, or work that needs to be done urgently, or causes that are worth fighting for?
We need to be cautious about what we do and what we don’t have time for. Do we have time for Jesus and His calling? Do we have time to share His love with people?
Time is precious; you’ve heard that a million times (if not more). Time can be stolen. Time can be lost. Time can we wasted.
Illustration: How would you like to spend 2 years making phone calls to people who aren’t home? Sound absurd? According to one time management study, that’s how much time the average person spends trying to return calls to people who never seem to be in. Not only that, we spend 6 months waiting for the traffic light to turn green, and another 8 months reading junk mail.
Sure, we have to make the phone calls, and we must wait at the light. But what about the rest of our time? Are we using it to advance the cause of Jesus and to enhance our relationship with Him? Is our time well spent?
We must use our time in a way that is pleasing to God. In Ephesians 5:15-16
Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Bruce Lee is quoted as saying: "If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of."
Illustration: I read an article online this past week that was posted in "USA Today" some years ago about Mike Tyson, which I found to be rather interesting. He said, "My whole life has been wasted. I’ve been a failure." Then he said some other things. He said for instance, "I just want to escape. I’m really embarrassed with myself and my life." Then he said, "I’ll never be happy. I believe I’ll die alone. I’m really lost, but I’m trying to find myself." But the thing that really got a hold of me is where he said, "My whole life has been a waste."
He is expressing what many people in this world are expressing about life and their living of life.
A group of students were asked to write some definitions of life. One student wrote, "Life is a punishment for the crime of being born." Another student wrote, "Life is a disease for which the only cure is death." Then many of us remember a song which had a line that said, "Living is what you do while you are waiting to die."
I fear that this is how many of us see our lives. Have we lost our zeal for life? Are we wasting our time here on earth just simply living and waiting to die?
we need to realize that:
I. Our Time Is Limited.
A. We don’t have much of it and we must use it because it’s not always going to be here. Time is precious and Time is limited.
1. When something is in short supply and the demand is high – the price goes up. The more scarce something is, the more valuable it is. It’s just that simple.
1. Gold and diamonds would be worthless if they were as common as rocks on ground. Time would not be so precious if we never died, but we do.
James 4:14 “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
2. The reality is that the life in this world will come to an end. Each and everyone one of us will experience our own death someday. But for many of us, we live like we will never die. Unless Jesus comes before I die – I will die.
3. I don’t walk around with morbid thoughts of death every day. But I know that chances are that I will die someday and I need to prepare for it. I can’t stop it, but I can prepare for it. We are told in:
Hebrews 9:27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.
II. Our Time Is Passing.
A. You can try to save time in a bottle, but it can’t be done. There is no fountain of youth in this life that can give you back twenty years of life.
1. You can make your physical appearance look younger, plastic surgeons have proved that. But does that really make you younger? The date you were born – is the date that you were born. It does not change by diet – exercise – or plastic surgery. Nothing can change that.
2. Death is in our future but we don’t really like to think about it all that much – but it’s inevitable, it’s coming.
3. For the most part have no real control over the day we will die, the day our physical bodies will leave this earth, the day our life here is over…
4. We can however control how we spend the time God has blessed us with while we are still living on this earth.
5. S0 my question to you is. How are we spending our time? What are we doing with our life? NOW UNDERSTAND - you only get one – nobody gets two? This morning, this moment would be a real good time for you to deal with this question because life goes by so quickly, doesn’t it?
6. Wouldn’t you agree with me, that life is unspeakably precious and unbelievably short? Since life is so precious and so short – it is really insane to waste it on stupid things… Like being consumed with what other people think about us…
Or getting really mad at someone and just stewing over that for years & years…
Or just living in constant fear about something, Or walking through life wearing the blinders of cynicism/negativity – so that you are never able to see the awesome wonder and beauty that God has surrounded you with every day.
3. Time is passing. You will never be able to get time back. There is no rewind button in life, no pause button, there is nothing you or I could ever do to regain time. Time waits for no man.
Our time is passing and:
III. Our Time Is Un-certain.
A. We do not know the day. I have been around when doctors have given a prognosis that a person would die in a short period time – and yet that person will linger on beyond the expected date. I have also conducted funerals for people who seemed healthy and yet have died suddenly. It seems that only God knows the time and date.
Proverbs 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
1. There are thousands of people who died today – who yesterday had no idea that today was to be their last day. Many of them were younger than you. I wonder if they would have spent yesterday differently – if they had only known.
2. Obviously, we make plans as though we are going to live many more years to come – but that might not be the case. Our time on earth is limited and it is uncertain.
3. I believe we can easily loose time by doing nothing.
4. There are many things in this world that you can lose and get back. Time is not one of them. The minute a moment is gone it is gone forever.
5. Remember the Soap Opera “Days of Our Lives”? It started off by saying, “Like sand through an hour glass – so are the days of our lives.” Time comes only to be gone in an instant. Jesus said:
John 9:4 “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.”
6. Jesus realized that He had a short time on this earth and we do too. Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to follow Jesus. Today is the day we tell ourselves that “We Got Time for That” and realize what we do have time for.
7. It’s time we realize we are in a world that is full of danger and if we sit back and remain complacent, we will get burned and loose it all.
Conclusion: One thing we can say about Sweet Brown is that she didn’t waste any time in getting out of danger’s way. She realized she was in danger of her life and she bolted. She didn’t hesitate in getting out of there fire.
She didn’t grab any shoes or nothing and she didn’t allow the smoke or her bronchitis to stop her. She realized what she had time for and what she didn’t have time for.
Sweet Brown came out on the other side of danger with a smile on her face and now she has been blessed from sharing her story with the world .
Right now at this very moment we have time. We have time to do something for Jesus. The question is, will we have time tomorrow?
