We can all agree the world is changing. The coronavirus held us for ransom, demanding our most precious and limited resource as payment—time. For some, it was time to pay up, for others it was time to re-evaluate their priorities and for far too many—it was time up.
Soon tension, unease & disgust exploded on all media platforms, following the racially charged murder of George Floyd on May 25th 2020. This injustice provoked a huge public outcry for a cure to the institutional disease— that is racism. A contagious sickness that chokes the life of a generation, yet it's treated like the common cold, with the hope that in time—it will all be over. Just hang in there.
Truth be told life came for everyone this year. It began with 2020 goals, 2020 vision—the year you were finally going to go for it. Then BAM—life gave you a punch you're still recovering from. Everything you started to build or planned to start came under attack. You got a revelation of how much control you really have in your life.
Time is no longer a luxury
Reflecting on all of this, I was reminded of a story in the Bible of a Godly man called Nehemiah. He was heartbroken by the now fallen state of Jerusalem, his home—so he set out to rebuild the wall that protects the city. However there arose opposition against him that threatened his life and the wall he was building. To finish the project he instructed his men to continue working with one hand and ready to fight with a weapon in the other. [Nehemiah 4:17]
The story reminded me—time is no longer a luxury or something we can waste, nor afford to mismanage. When opposition comes (and come it has), the appropriate response in this season, I believe should be to stack bricks with one hand and have a weapon in the other.
For a mother, this could mean raising her child and revamping her youtube channel. For the freelancer it could be getting a fulltime job (for now) while innovating in the evenings. For those appalled and affected by the burden of racism, it means standing up to injustice and building a legacy our children will live to see—where their lives are not defined by the ignorance of hateful people.
Whatever you're building (or hoping start), whether its a business, a family, book or your mental health—don't stop when oppositon comes. Life is a fight! Some fights are just temporary distractions. They deceive us into thinking we must drop our bricks and focus solely on them. By the time we get back to building, we find all the concrete dryed up, along with our passion and energy. In reality—we could've fought them off with one hand and built with the other.
The world is changing.
I pray you find the wisdom and strength, to build and fight.
Be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. - Ephesians 5:15 NLT