That comes down to about 42 million minutes. Even after you subtract out the time we spend asleep, that leaves 28 million minutes. This is the time during which we must live our lives.
The good news……….that’s a lot of minutes. Even so……it is a finite number. We only get so many minutes and when they are gone…….they are gone……and there is nothing we can do to get a single one of them back.
In a word ……….we get a lot of “do…s”……..but, we don’t get any “redo…..s”.
The bad news………..our 28 million minutes don’t all count. Every minute that you spend angry is subtracted from your 28 million minutes. Every minute that you spend in front of a TV or video game is also subtracted………..because that is time you spend living a fantasy…….. somebody else’s life……..but that is a topic for another day.
We all get angry……so anger is an issue for every one of us. For some of us, anger is a rare event. For others it is almost constant.
Why don’t the angry minutes count?
It’s pretty basic. We were created for relationship……..with our fellow man and with our creator….. God. Our life is a journey that is measured by the relationships that we build. Some of us are better at this than others. When we do something that does not promote relationships……..or worse, something that destroys relationships, we are off the path……we are sidetracked. The time that we spend sidetracked is lost. And we can never get it back. It’s like a hockey player who is in the penalty box. The game goes on…..life goes on……but he doesn’t get to play.
Every now and then you see somebody who looks back at their life and asks, “is that all that there is?” What you are seeing is the regret of somebody who is wondering what happened to all of the minutes that they spent……… wasted……..while they were sidetracked. Maybe this has happened to you.
And that is the problem with anger. You cannot build relationships while you are angry. Even if you want to, the other guy is not going to be very receptive……. if you approach him in anger. This is just human nature. A more likely outcome?……..your anger is going to damage, if not destroy relationships. Think of someone you know who is angry most of the time. Do you seek that person out? Do you go out of your way to spend time with them? Do you try to grow that relationship? If you do you are a saint……..and you are extremely rare.
Show me a chronically angry man (or woman)……..and I will show you a lonely, isolated man……..someone who is wasting precious minutes……… sidetracked………in the penalty box.
So…….if you are someone who is rarely angry…….you are a blessing……to yourself……..to the rest of us……..and ultimately…… to God. We all owe you our thanks.
If, on the other hand, you find that you spend too much of your time angry………and please understand……..it doesn’t matter one bit if your anger is justified……….I have a simple plea for you:
STOP WASTING YOUR TIME
You only have so many minutes left……..and the rest of us miss you.
Well, I’m goin’ down that long, lonesome road
Where I’m bound, I can’t tell
But goodbye’s too good a word
So I’ll just say fare thee well
Well, I ain’t sayin’ you treated me unkind
I could’ve done better but I don’t mind
Just kinda wasted my precious time
But don’t think twice, it’s all right
Mike Ness
“Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”
Alcoholics Anonymous
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James, NIV
“Do you do well to be angry?”
God, NIV