How often have you heard the statement: “If only there were more hours in the day?”

Time favours no one. We all have the same amount of time each day – 24 hours or 1440 minutes or 86,400 seconds. We are all equal in that respect. No one receives any more or any less.

The Ancient Greeks spoke of time as chronos and kairos, both Greek words which mean time, yet they imply different things. Yet, what is time?

In Silver Linings, Terry Lees seeks to respond to this question, while investigating chronos and kairos and how they both influence our lives.

Listen to the episode below, or continue on to read the transcript.

Episode Transcript:

The Ancient Greeks spoke of time as chronos and kairos, both Greek words which mean time, yet they imply different things.

In his book, What We’re Looking for is Already Here, Henri Nouwen wrote that “we make hidden passage from time lived as chronos to time lived as kairos. Kairos is a Greek word meaning “the opportunity.” It is the right time, the real moment, the chance of our lives. When our time becomes kairos, it frees us and opens us to endless new possibilities. Living kairos offers us an opportunity for a profound change of heart” .

The great French writer and philosopher, Voltaire, asked this question: “What, of all things in the world, is the longest and shortest, the swiftest and the slowest, the most divisible and the most extended, the most neglected and the most regretted, without which nothing can be done, which devours all that is little and enlivens all that is great?”

It seems to me that Voltaire had a strong understanding of both chronos and kairos, both in his question and in his answer. “Time. Nothing is longer, since it is a measure of eternity. Nothing is shorter, since it is insufficient for the accomplishment of our projects. Nothing is more slow to him that expects; nothing is more rapid to him that enjoys. In greatness, it extends to infinity; in smallness, it is infinitely divisible. All men neglect it; all regret the loss of it; nothing can be done without it. It consigns to oblivion whatever is unworthy of being transmitted to posterity, and it immortalises such actions as are truly great.”

Most of us live our lives in chronos time or earth time. It denotes a quantitative meaning of time, the passing of seconds, hours, minutes, days, weeks, years – grains of sand slipping through the hourglass. We measure it with clocks. It is pick up the kids at 2.30, make dinner at 5, go to a meeting at 7. When we say time, we usually mean chronos time. What’s the time? Time to take a shower, time to eat lunch, time to watch our favourite TV show.

How often have you heard the statement: “If only there were more hours in the day?”

Time favours no one. We all have the same amount of time each day – 24 hours or 1440 minutes or 86,400 seconds. We are all equal in that respect. No one receives any more or any less. Time is the most priceless of possessions and the most basic of commodities. It costs nothing, but its true value fluctuates wildly. When wasted, it can cause great losses. When spent wisely, it lets its investors reap uncountable benefits. Time is not money – however, it can be spent toward beneficial or profitable ends. Time cannot be saved – however, it can be wasted.

Chronos is constantly ticking. We can’t slow or stop it, and once it’s lost you can’t get it back. We try to manage it, but the fact is, we can’t manage time! In her book The Secrets of the Rainmaker, Chin-Ning Chu says that “time itself is the master of life” and that “it is unmanageable.” All we can do is try to make the best use of our chronos time.

When we focus on chronos time we forget the gifts of this present moment.

On the other hand, Kairos is Eternal Time. In the Bible, the wisdom book of Ecclesiastes teaches: There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. A time to give birth, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance [Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8].

Kairos is a Greek word for “opportune.” This time is eternal, timelessness, infinite, the appointed time in the purpose of God. Kairos is the time when God acts – a moment, a season, a time to create meaning. Kairos is not linear nor dependent upon a specific day or hour. It is qualitative. For every time there is a season; a time to love; a time to plant. Kairos is not a specific number in time. In many ways it is time all rolled up into one. The future, the past, the present. All exist at once in that one moment.

The present moment. A beautiful moment of letting go, of simply being. And in that sacred moment I am one with the Almighty I AM. Everything is gone – the worries, anxieties of past days, concerns with worldly matters, feelings of tiredness – all gone. Nothing to be sought, nothing to be earned. There is only LOVE; compassionate, unconditional love, freely given and received.

We are uplifted by the love of an ever-loving God. We are loved by a loving God, who is LOVE, and that love pours down and over us like a cascading, never-ending torrent, soaking into us and flowing out. Hold onto that feeling and …

 

Look for the Silver Lining.

This is Terry Lees.

[Music: (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life – Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes]