Art Linkletter tells of the young woman who married a wealthy old man. She was
apparently quite fond of him in the beginning, but then she started to focus on the demands
of maintaining a home. She told her husband that the garden looked shabby. All right
he said spend some money to take care of it. So she brought in the gardening crew,
and soon the grounds looked wonderful. Then she noticed that the cutting away of the
shrubs and hedges left the house looking shabby. So she called in the painters, and soon
the house looked just wonderful. But when she walked into the house, from this beautiful
exterior, it made the inside of the house look shabby. So her husband told her to get an
interior decorator, and she did. Finally, the entire estate sparkled and looked gorgeous.
But in the midst of all this splendor her husband looked shabby, so she got rid of him.
Linkletter did not say if this story was based on fact, but it could very well be. Here
was a woman who wanted a place for everything, and everything in its place. What did
not fit, she got rid of. All of us may like to follow such a plan, and keep in our lives only
those things which are pleasant, and which our design for the ideal life. Solomon is telling
us this is fairy tale dreaming, and does not face up to the reality that life is a mixture of
negative and positive. You don't get to pick and choose, and select only the good things
of life. You must also experience the bad things.
You cannot just be born, and skip the dying part. You cannot just go out and harvest
a crop, and skip the work of planting. You cannot just go through life laughing and dancing,
and bypass the weeping and mourning that comes with the package called life. As the
cliché goes, "We must learn to take the bad with the good." The key to being able to do
this, and still be happy and successful, is timing. Timing plays a major role in life. Part of
what it means to be wise is in recognizing the importance of timing.
Amusing is the story of the Russian philosopher Nicolas Berdyaev who was pleading
passionately about the insignificance and unreality of time, when suddenly he stopped,
and looked at his watch with genuine anxiety, for he noticed he was late for taking his
medicine.
Solomon was right, there is a time for every matter under heaven. A time for taking
medicine, and a time for refraining medicine. This is not one of his 14 couplets, but it is
just as true, and we could all come up with other couplets equally valid. These are just
key examples of his main point, there is a time for everything. If this is the case, then
it naturally follows that whether life goes smooth, or is rough, often will depend upon the
timing. We cannot choose when to be born, and often have little choice as to when we
die, but there is much of life where we do have choices, and wisdom is determined, not
just by the right choice, but by the right timing.
A good thing done at the wrong time can be a bad thing. That is, it can actually do
more harm than good. For example, take Lucy, who is playing out the field, and a ball
drops right beside her, and she makes no attempt to catch it. Charlie Brown, the manager
rushes out to her in anger demanding an answer for why she didn't hold out her glove.
Her reply was simply, "I was having my quiet time." Not even God could be pleased
with such timing for devotions. Spirituality of any kind can get a bad reputation if it is used
as an excuse for neglecting responsibility, or avoiding obligations. The student who fails
his history exam with the excuse that he was reading his Bible, will not impress God or
the teacher. Life demands balance. There is a time for devotions, and a time to refrain
from devotions. Peter wanted to stay on the Mt. of Transfiguration, but Jesus said, in
effect, there is a time to be on the mountain, and a time to be in the valley meeting the
urgent needs of men. Escape is good only when it is a means to prepare for more effective
battle.
It is good to go through an intersection, for if one does not he will never get anywhere.
All progress depends on doing it, so it is good and right, but if you do this good and right
thing at the wrong time it can be the worst thing you do. There is a time to go, and a time to stop.
One epitaph reads, "Here lies the body of William Jay, who died maintaining his right of way.
He was right-dead right-as he sped a long, but he's just as dead as if he was wrong."
There is a time to claim your rights, but wisdom recognizes there is also a time to give them up.
The importance of timing is the key to understanding much of the teaching of Christ in
the sermon on the Mount. There is a time for the Christian to mourn and be meek, and to back
away from his rights and turn the other cheek. Jesus said if you are offering your
gift at the alter, and remember that you brother is offended, go first and be reconciled to
your brother, and then come and offer you gift. Jesus is saying, there is an order in life
that makes things fitting, and if they are not in the right order, even though good, they
are not acceptable to God. Jesus gave us specific examples of the importance of timing.
He said the Pharisees failed by doing good things, and it was because they timed their
alms, prayers, and fasting, so as to be seen of men. Jesus said the right time for these things
is when you are alone with God.
Jesus agrees with Solomon, timing is a key factor in the successful life that is pleasing
to God, and beneficial to men. Failure and mistakes revolve around poor timing. Robert
Morris was a wealthy merchant. He was so wealthy that his son Robert Morris Jr., who
was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was also the key financier of the American Revolution.
His money saved our government from bankruptcy. His father was also greatly honored; one might say,
overly honored. One day as he left one of his large ships on a small boat, which was taking him to shore,
he was honored by the Captain by being saluted with the ships cannon. In this case they saluted him before
he was out of range, and the cannon ball killed him. He was only 39, and died because of poor timing.
The same thing done at a different moment would have been a pleasure.
"How did you get that black eye?" one friend asked another. "By kissing the bride
after the ceremony," he replied. "But everybody does that," he responded. "Yeah,
I know, but this was two years after the ceremony." Poor timing was the cause of his
injury. Good and bad; right and wrong; wise and foolish; often revolve around this matter
of timing. Growing in wisdom, therefore, involves growing in your awareness of what is
the proper moment. Arthur Gordon interviewed the well-known actor, Charles Coburn,
before he died. He asked him the stock question, "What does one need to get ahead in
life? Brains, energy, education?" He shook his head and said, "Those things help. But
there is something I consider even more important: knowing the moment." He then went
on the say, "On the stage, as every actor knows, timing is the all important factor. I
believe its the key in life, too. If you could master the art of knowing the moment in your
marriage, your work, your relationships with others, you won't have to pursue happiness
or run after success. They'll walk right in through your front door!"
Arthur Gordon was deeply impressed by this interview, and he recognized it was an
idea that Solomon had stressed. He did some research on the subject, and discovered it
was one of the most practical truths that a person can grasp. He quotes a family relations
court judge, who deals with quarreling couples constantly. "If only they'd realize that
there are times when everyone's threshold of irritability is low. When a person can't stand
nagging or criticism, or even good advice! If married partners would just take the trouble
to study each other's moods, and know when to air a grievance or when to show affection,
the divorce rate in this country would be cut in half." I am convinced also that many
marriages are ruined not by the problems and the conflicts, but by the poor timing involved
in dealing with them.
There is a time for war says Solomon; a time when hostility and resentment has to be
dealt with in all human relations, but only when it is timed right will it be followed by peace
rather than pieces. Successful marriages are accomplished by two people who are aware
of the importance of timing. Arthur Gordon learned of his own weakness in this area when
he asked his wife, which of his failing annoyed her most. She responded, "Your tendency
to wait until we are about to walk into a party before telling me that my hair is mussed or
my dress doesn't look quite right." Even if it is true, it is better to leave it unsaid then to
speak the truth at the wrong time. Some feel that the truth is always right to speak. This
is not so; even Jesus kept back the truth until it was appropriate, and the time was right
for it to be received.
God's whole plan of redemption is based on this principle of proper timing. It was not
until the fullness of time, when all had been providentially prepared, that God sent forth
His Son into the world. Those who could read the signs of the time came to worship the
Christ child. Those who were prepared received the gift of God which was eternal life.
But, as is always the case, even a blessing can be a curse to those who are not ready for
it. For those who had no sense of God's timing, Jesus said His coming brought judgment.
The kingdom of God was at hand, but they missed it, because they did not grasp God's
timing.
The Prodigal Son got his inheritance at the wrong time. It was a blessing he was not
prepared to handle wisely. The result was, it became a curse and cost him everything.
Had grace and love not entered the story, it would have ended as a tragedy of poor timing.
Many have found sudden wealth to be a curse. Take any other value, and the story is the
same. Power is good, but let it fall into the hands of one who is not prepared to use it,
and it will lead to tyranny and disaster. Fortunately, it works both ways, and we have the
story of Esther, of whom Mordecai said, "Who knows whether you have not come to the
kingdom for such a time as this?" Because she recognized the importance of timing, she
acted and used her power to save the Jewish race. Mordecai knew the importance of
timing, and he told Esther that if she made this a time for silence she would parish. Esther
agreed, it was time to speak, and this gave her a major role in the plan of God.
History is constantly revealing tragedy or triumph based on timing. The French
Revolution set the masses free, but they were not prepared for freedom. It was bad
timing, and the result was great bloodshed from which the nation never recovered. This
same thing has happened in other nations, and almost happened in America. Booker
Washington in, Up From Slavery, told of the great day of Lincoln's Emancipation
Proclamation. He describes wild scenes of ecstasy as the slaves wept and danced, and
used every emotion they had to express their joy in being liberated. But Washington
goes on to describe the next day. Now they had to do something with their freedom, and
it became a burden, for they didn't know how to use it. Gloom took over, for they had
found freedom to be a very serious business. For some it became a tragedy, but thanks
to men of good timing, like Booker Washington, and the black colleges, it did not become
the catastrophe it might have been.
The point is, you can go through all of history and see that what makes things good or
bad is not just what happens, but the timing of what happens, and how aware the people
are of the importance of timing, and being prepared to do what the time demands for
success. There is no end of examples. Sex is good or evil depending on the timing.
Before marriage it is called an evil, but after marriage it is a blessing. Sports almost
always depend upon timing. Even a pro will not be a winner if his timing is off. In warfare
courage and bravery are of great value, but the key to victory is in timing. Knowing when
to attack or retreat is the key factor. If your car engine is not properly timed there will
be loss of power and poor mileage. If your body does not get the proper nourishment at
the right time you will not be as effective. Timing is a vital part of life.
The implications and applications of this truth are so enormous and numerous that we
can only look at one of them right now. The one that impresses me most is this: If there
is a time for every matter under heaven, then it is evidently the will and plan of God that
the ideal life be one of great variety. Variety is indeed the spice of life. There is a time
for chicken, but also a time for shrimp. There is a time for study, but also a time for play.
There is a time for culture, and also a time for clowning. A balance life is a life where one
has a taste of diversity. When it comes to life we are made to be general practitioners and
not just specialists.
Let the life of Charles Darwin illustrate my point. As a young man he had a great love for
art, music, and literature. But as he pursued his career he lost his sense of balance
in life. He became obsessed with his scientific thinking. He rejected the idea that there
is a time for every matter under heaven. For him there was only time for his specialty.
Variety vanished from his life, and with it the ability to appreciate the many gifts of God
that add pleasure to life. In his declining years, when he had time to enjoy the beauty of
life's variety, he discovered it was too late. He wrote,
To my unspeakable sorrow I cannot endure to read a line of poetry.
I have tired lately to enjoy Shakespeare, but I found it so intolerably
dull that it nauseated me. I have even lost my taste for pictures and
music. I retain some fondness for beautiful scenery, but it does not
cause me the exquisite delight which it formerly did. My mind seems
to have become a mere machine for grinding general laws out of large
collections of facts.
His problem was poor timing. He never used a portion of his time to keep balanced,
and filled with a variety of interests and experiences. He missed the boat as it passed
its dock, and later when it stopped again, he no longer wanted the ride. Jesus said work
for the night is coming when man should work no more. What this means is that if you do
not do what you can do when you can do it, you may never get another chance, for either
the time will cease when it can be done, or you will change and no longer care to do what
can be done. Darwin learned the lesson too late, but his failure is a powerful lesson to us.
He said again, "If I had to live my life over again, I would make it a rule to read a little poetry,
and hear a little music every week; for perhaps the parts of my brain now atrophied would
thus have been kept active through use."
It is always the right time to be preparing to do the will of God. We do not always know what God's will
is, and what He may have in store for us, but whatever it is we will be better prepared for it by starting now.
Don't be like the boy who was running to the bus just as it pulled away. A man standing there said, "I guess
you didn't run fast enough." "O yes I did," said the boy. "I just didn't start soon enough." It is always the
right time to trust in Christ, and it is always perfect timing to start now obeying all that you know of
God's will.
