Thought for Today
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,
Psalm 90:4 For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night.
Matthew 6:27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?
John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.
Last night, during our Bible Study of Mark 12:13-17, we enjoyed a lively discussion about paying taxes. I would like to claim that I skillfully scheduled our study to reach that particular passage on the night before we reached the IRS deadline for submitting our tax returns. I would like to claim many things, some of them even believable. But, despite my former career managing large capital projects, I am not that good at advanced scheduling. But, the discussion last night did remind me that God does have a plan. From Genesis 1:1 until today and forward into the future, God has a plan, a schedule.
One of the things we discussed last night was a comment I encountered as I studied that passage, “Minting coinage is a sign of power.” We generally agreed with that statement. Our discussion then led to some discussion about various monetary systems. This morning, as I continued to think about that discussion, I began to think about weights and measures, the ways we define and quantify not only economic values but also all of the things we value and evaluate.
Many countries use some version of the metric system for their standard measurement systems. The U.S.A. does not use the metric system for our weights and measurements . . . except for our monetary system, which is metric. During my lifetime there have been periodic attempts to generate interest in the U.S.A. in converting to the metric system. “The Metric Conversion Act of 1975 is an Act of Congress that was signed into law by U.S. President Gerald Ford on December 23, 1975. It declared the metric system ‘the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce’, but permitted the use of United States customary units in all activities . . . Executive Order 12770, signed by President George H. W. Bush on July 25, 1991, directed departments and agencies within the executive branch of the United States Government to ‘take all appropriate measures within their authority’ to use the metric system ‘as the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce’ and authorized the Secretary of Commerce ‘to charter an Interagency Council on Metric Policy ('ICMP'), which will assist the Secretary in coordinating Federal Government-wide implementation of this order." (en.wikipedia.com) I cannot answer for anyone else, but I have yet to see anything at the supermarket priced at $x/gram. Maybe some day.
Interestingly, there is one major thing universally measured throughout the entire world on a non-metric system. I am not aware of any nation, country, society or any other human grouping that measures time on a metric system. Time is always measured using a duodecimal system (base 12). “Around 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians built the first sundials to mark the passage of time, arranging the day into the ‘duodecimal system’ of 12 hours of day and night that we use today. However, the inventors of time originally operated on a sexagesimal (base-60) system.” (Bing search) My thanks to the Egyptians. Base 12 is hard enough.
The Bible does deal with time. The various books of our Christian Bible span many thousands of years of our faith history. Irrespective of whether considered from an astrophysics view or a creationist view, human history spans long ages. Either view recognizes a discreet and distinct beginning, Genesis 1:1. Mathematicians and people of faith recognize the concept of eternity.
We believe God is eternal. God was before time. God views time from a different perspective than do we, because God was before time and created time “in the beginning.” Does God measure time using a duodecimal system or a sexagesimal system? Does God even measure time in any sense that we might understand? Does that question even have any real meaning? Irrespective of it all, I believe. I believe in God, the Creator of Creation, the Father of Jesus, the Christ. That’s enough for me.
Stay safe, believe, trust God,
Pastor Ray