Tick-Tock: Time is of the Essence

Today, as I was strolling along with my friend discussing this very blog assignment, I was shocked to hear that he was straying from the stereotypical answer to the question of whether our tax dollars are enough to help the poor, or whether time should be invested as well. (To this minute I anxiously await his sure to be interesting devil's advocate blog post). As for me, I am adamantly for the investment of time as well as taxes to the less fortunate people of this world. Yet, in encountering another point of view, I was forced to re-evaluate mine. Why do I think this?Why do I believe it is the right thing to do, that the personal touch and kind face can last longer and stretch farther in the minds of the dejected then any amount of government-placed money?

After all, money is a universal medium, perhaps it can buy the human contact, love and attention that the wanting needs.This led me to re-evaluate my mode of thinking and readdress the question. My new and improved answer, despite it being murkier than black and white, still rings true in my beliefs. Taxes and money in general, may be enough to attend to the needs of the poor, but it should not be enough for us. We, as Christians, as inhabitants of this one world, should step-up to rectify the unacceptable conditions that some individuals of our society have to live through. This may mean giving money or it may mean relinquishing a commodity that is even more precious and limited and personal to each individual- our time. After, the time we have in this world, is nothing short of God-given and how we choose to utilize this time on Earth, reflects on our priorities. Whether or not the impersonal, government required contributions will get the job done or not is a question for a human welfare cabinet, however, no matter how much money the government demands from us, it will still fall short of what we can voluntarily do to positively impact those in need. So if we are to solve a problem, address an issue, lets do it right! Let us go all the way and share this gift of God (our time and our ability to decide how to use it) to honor him and positively impact others.