“At one time, his audience was so large, and his image so credible, that a 1972 poll determined he was “the most trusted man in America” – surpassing even the president, vice president, members of Congress and all other journalists.

In a time of turmoil and mistrust, after Vietnam and Watergate, the title was a rare feat – and the label stuck.

The “most trusted man in America” is gone.
Walter Cronkite, who personified television journalism for more than a generation as anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News,” has died. CBS vice president Linda Mason says Cronkite died at 7:42 p.m. Friday with his family by his side at his home in New York after a long illness. He was 92.”

• July 20, 2009 CBS news

As this short notice indicates, our time on earth is short, and has a definite end. In Psalm 102:11-12, David writes “My Days are like a shadow that declineth; I am whithered like grass. But thou Oh Lord shalt endure forever; and thy rememberance to all generations”

God has given us three main types of resources, time – and health, money – or physical assets, and relationships, but I view one resource as key, because it is impossible to invest the others without carefully managing this one resource.

The average person in the United States has a life expectancy of about 78 years. These 78 years are the time God has given to you. As this is an average, you may well not have 78 years, in fact, none of us know if we will still be alive tomorrow, or if we are, if we will still be blessed with the same level of health we have today. How we choose to invest our time is one of the most important decisions any of us can make. Those who do not make a decision have already undervalued their time, and will, by default mis-use this resource.

How will you choose to spend your time? We can use the time God has given us to become “the most trusted person in America” as much of the nation viewed Walter Cronkite, or we can use these years to gather other “treasures” such as honor, glory, and money. While honor and glory are preferred above riches (Prov. 22:1), all of these treasures will be destroyed. Likewise, our time will someday run out. The clock has never stopped ticking since we were born, have we invested the time that has already passed well, in a way that will receive praise of God?

Only treasures stored in heaven are safe. As Jesus said, the rest will rust, corrode, or otherwise be eaten up and stolen.

How can we invest our time into eternity? You might check out Matthew 25 for some thoughts on that.

~ Matthew H.