We are called to order our time wisely.
Given the essential place of work in our vocation as men, this wise ordering must apply to the world of work.
But while work is an important and noble good, it is not the highest good in life.
Rather, the great good of work is meant to serve the still greater good of love.
And in this realm of love, wisdom must also be operative.
It must permeate not only our relationships themselves but also the way we arrange our time to serve and to foster these relationships.
To establish and to maintain friendship— between spouses, within families, among friends— takes time, and the best, deepest, and widest friendships take the most time.
Aristotle realized this point when he asserted that it is impossible to have many friends.
In his view a friend is distinguished from an associate, a colleague, or an acquaintance by the depth of the relationship.
The Gospel implies as much.
It is not until Jesus is nearing the end of his public ministry that he confides in his apostles, “I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father” (John 15:15).
The process of making everything known to them took time.
And reflecting on this, the early Church came to see that, although God could have saved us in some other way, Jesus came among us to spend time with us, precisely so that he could enter into profound bonds of friendship with us.
This began with his intimate friends on earth, Mary, Joseph, and the apostles.
Stewardship of time touches not only the world of work, but the world of friendship and human love.
There is a happy harmony or unity here: when we order our time wisely, we consider our obligations and responsibilities at work, as well as the joyful demands placed upon us by our friends and families.
There is a convicting side to this.
If we waste time at work, we do a disservice to our friends and loved ones, having squandered time that could otherwise have been for them.
We should reflect often on whether we diligently plan our time with friends and family.
We are probably fairly intentional about our time commitments at work, but do we invest as much thoughtfulness in weekends together as a family, in time with a spouse or dear friend, or in activities with our children or extended family?
Our vocation to work supports our vocation to love.
Thus, our stewardship of time applies just as much, if not more, to our relationships with others.
As you lift your eyes in prayer today, call to mind the holy family, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, asking the good Lord to increase in your heart an appreciation of work’s ordering to love, to friendship, and to family.
