A Stitch in Time

Most of us spend a good part of our lives watching TV or listening to the radio.  Often the programmes that we enjoy are interrupted by advertising.  At the end of June, the time is coming when we will see advertisements for department stores, which may well begin, “School’s out!”.  Such an announcement will be followed up by the invitation to “do your ‘back to school’ shopping now, so you can holiday with peace of mind.”

Last time I saw such an advert, my mind went back to my days as a parent of young children and, with some cynicism, I told the screen, “not if the little perishers grow in the meantime!”  To buy clothes in June, only to find by late August that they’re too small, would be folly indeed, and far from giving peace of mind.

How typical this is of our whole lifestyle in the 21st century.  We try to pull things out of season, whether shopping for certain goods before we really need them, treating children as ‘little adults’, or simply wanting fresh fruit and vegetables on our shelves all the year round.  The success of these strategies is only ever partial; at best it’s only short-term, and it can often be completely transitory or illusory.

Many centuries ago, a philosopher wrote, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, KJV).  There is a right time for every aspect of life, and the writer tells us that this was part of God’s plan.  All the topics covered by the succeeding verses are appropriate at certain times.  The secret to finding peace – and with it, satisfaction – is to discover, accept and conform to God’s timing for them.  If we follow this, all well and good; if not, we shouldn’t be surprised when things go wrong,

Whether it is buying too soon for a new school year, seeking produce that has ripened on the other side of the world, or making a major purchase on credit before we can properly afford it, we do these things at our own peril.  Often the repercussions of our actions impinge upon the lives of others as well as, or instead of ourselves, and it’s only after suffering the consequences, directly or indirectly, large or small, that we can look back and see the error of our ways.

In due time, says the philosopher, God will judge everything: good or bad (v.17).  It’s a warning we would do well to heed – even though it was made so long ago – because (to paraphrase his words) “what goes around, comes around” (v.15).