I recently started following a blog called Wait Buy Why which has some very well thought-out content although I definitely don’t share their atheistic worldview.
Something we do share is the value of putting your life in perspective. An atheist believes that when her life ends that’s the end of her existence. This belief leads an atheist to want to make the most of her life and it leads a noble atheist to want to leave something worthwhile behind for the benefit of those still living. Unfortunately, many people, atheist or otherwise, subscribe to the philosophy mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15, “Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die.”
Your Life in Weeks
Consider Tim Urban’s post on Wait But Why called Your Life in Weeks. Urban visually lays out 90 years of life in years, months and weeks with a focus on the calendar of weeks being the most useful for putting things in perspective. You can actually buy a Life Calendar from the Wait But Why store.
Here is where I am currently on the Life in Weeks calendar.
Reality Check
Figuring out where you are currently on this life calendar can and should be sobering especially considering that 90 years is pretty generous. I am thrilled to have found this tool and plan to use it. Each time you progress to another square (a new week) and definitely as you progress to a new line (a new year) you should evaluate where you are, where you have been and how many squares you may or may not have left.
Learning to Count
Moses wrote in Psalm 90, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” I don’t think that he was saying that we have to learn how to count. What we really need to learn is to consider how many days we have left and what we should try to do with the time we have remaining.
Choose Well
A biblical Christian surprisingly has more in common with the noble atheist than with the “party ’til you die” crowd, at least when it comes to making the most with the time you have been given. Major differences between the two worldviews become apparent when you examine what choices are made regarding how to invest your time. What if a person’s physical death is not the end but a transition? What if some relationships last forever and time spent investing in those relationships would not go unrewarded?
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