The length of our days is seventy years–or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. Psalm 90:10

The average life expectancy for humans is around 72 years old today, with females outliving males by five years.  The poet Philip Larkin imagined each decade of life as if it were a day of the week. If we’re born on Sunday morning, figuratively speaking, you’re reaching the end of your life on the following Saturday evening. If you are currently 30 years old, you’re living on Wednesday.

With faith in Jesus, we don’t need to fear “the weekend.”  We don’t need to fear death, even if it arrives early, but we aren’t exactly eager for it. We must strike a balance of using our lifetime strategically without obsessing over time itself; neither clinging to youth nor becoming complacent in maturity.

Moses said, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12).  We cannot ensure the course of our lives, yet it’s wise to contemplate and prepare for its direction.

According to Jesus, this preparation shouldn’t be focused on individual gain. Jesus told a story of a man who planned for his future, saying, “I will build bigger barns and grow a larger business,” not knowing that his death was timed for that very night. Since his plans benefitted only himself, they meant nothing after his death.

Do you have life plans? Who do they benefit? No matter how many decades or days of the week you have left in life, be strategic so that you can gain a heart of wisdom.

 

Resource reading: Psalms 90:1-17