ANOTHER MAN’S CLOCK

I have met quite a few sets of identical twins. Usually, I get to know one of them first, so I become familiar with them. But then when I finally meet the other twin, it’s difficult to tell who’s who. This has led to some awkward moments, when I greet the less known twin with enthusiasm, only to get an unequal and opposite reaction.

Close family members don’t usually make such mistakes because no matter how identical the twins may be, they have a way of telling them apart. There is always a difference. It’s just about discovering it. As the twins grow older, more differences begin to appear between them, though not usually physically apparent. In most cases,  interests and choices lead them along different paths. Marriage is often another distinguishing factor that amplifies the differences. So, in a sense, each twin has their own clock and difference between time on their individual clocks gradually grows as they grow older.

If identical twins can have markedly different clocks, how much more other people that have little in common like agemates, classmates and all other kinds of mates. We all have different clocks and our times and seasons are often different. Judging our progress in life based on another man’s clock only leads to ingratitude and pain. This makes us fix our eyes on how much other people have that we don’t and on the many ways that they appear to be doing better than us, even though we are “mates”.

…Certainly, when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves to themselves, they show how foolish they are. 2 Corinthians 10:12 [GWT]

While hard work and ambition are laudable and actively encouraged, we should not measure the results of our efforts on another man’s scale. We should also not measure the time that it takes us to get to a particular milestone on another man’s clock.

But godliness actually is a source of great gain when accompanied by contentment [that contentment which comes from a sense of inner confidence based on the sufficiency of God]. 1 Timothy 6:6 [AMP]

When we fix our eyes on God as our ultimate source, we begin to develop a different perspective to life when it comes to our joy, achievements and sense of self-worth. We gradually establish our own scale and get used to reading the time based only on our own clock. This is reinforced when we understand that what the scriptures say in Hebrews 13: 5 is true and does not depend on how fast or slow we are moving in our own eyes.

Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.” Hebrews 13:5 [GNT]

We should be firmly anchored in the knowledge of the truth that God is always faithful, and He never runs out of love and grace, even when it appears that our clocks are stuck and others are zooming past us. He is not a man that He should lie, and He does not change like shifting shadows. He makes everything beautiful in its time.