Proverb 3:16

“Length of days is in her right hand,
In her left hand riches and honor.”

Our virtuous lady of honor holds time in her right hand. The same lady who was “there beside the master craftsman” (Prov. 8:30), rejoicing before him as he “established the clouds above” (vs. 28), drew a circle over the face of the deep” (vs. 27) and “assigned to the sea its limit” (vs.29). 

I suppose, then, that on the fourth day, recounted in Genesis 1:14-19, she was there too. When the sovereign creator of the universe commanded “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and season, and for days and years. 

And such was the beginning of time as we know it. I wonder if it was at that moment that he turned to Lady Wisdom and gave her authority over his creation, for we know that “length of days is in her right hand.” 

Have you noticed that when you wake up with intent, when you serve others and serve God with the time he has given you how long the day seems to last? But on the contrary, how quickly time “flies when you’re having fun,” so to speak. Not that you can’t have fun in service to others, but when your time is flippantly filled with fun, when it’s the sole purpose and intent of your plan, it’s fleeting. And it goes quickly. Seems like I can get so much more accomplished in the course of the day when I’m focused and when I commit my time to the Lord as opposed to when I try to manage it on my own. After meditation on today’s word, I am apt to believe that it’s because of Wisdom that my time is influenced so.

Likewise, how time seems to snowball; that is, the older you get, the faster it goes. That, too, I believe is by design. As we grow wiser and more in tune with God’s plan for this life, we grow more understanding of an eternal perspective and shape the realization that this life is “but a vapor” (Ecc.) and “a wise man’s heart discerns both time and judgment” (Ecc. 8:5).

Time was not a gift to fill with plans. As my dad frequently reminded me, we can fall into the devious trap that “time is something that happens while you’re making other plans” and when the trap snaps closed, it crushes in on your remaining time, whispering suggestive ways to fill what’s left of it: travel, work, indulge in anything that makes you feel like you’re accomplishing something.

The reality is that time is closing in on you. But the restricting and sometimes claustrophobic feeling that accompanies our awareness of it is supposed to lead us not to quickly filling our schedules, but to quickly changing our approach to it. Because when a wise man “discerns both time and judgement,” his spirit will naturally desire a life of service to his God and creator who laid down his life in place of said judgement. In response to his sacrificial gesture, we then are called to take up our cross and fill our remaining time with selfless acts of love and forgiveness toward others. It’s the natural posture of a servant’s heart. And that is the purpose of time.

Let’s not forget what Lady wisdom holds in her left hand: riches and honor. If we’re honest, and we take a look at the activities that line the pages of our calendars, it’s these we are in search of. Work, play, community. The slightest shift in our hearts turn what’s meant to serve God into a mission to serve self. I may schedule an activity to “serve” someone in my community. But somewhere along the way, I may have a subtle expectation to be honored for that service. And when others don’t realize, I may grow bitter with resentment. Cynical at best. But when a wise man’s heart is tuned to true service, he honors the Father. That is what–or should I say–whom lady wisdom means to honor.

The hours of work we schedule are in hopes that one day we may retire and leave a chunk of riches to our children, no matter how humble the nest egg may be. Neither are these the riches she holds, but “her proceeds are better than the profits of silver and her gain than fine gold” (vs. 14). They are riches in heaven based on the work we do in response to the Father’s command to “do business till I come” from the Parable of the Ten Minas (Luke 19:13).

What business am I carrying out with my time today? What business with my riches?