We were watching the movie “In Time”. Sometimes I’m a little embarrassed that I like that movie. It is a Justin Timberlake movie after all. But come to find, he’s not a half bad actor. And there are some really thought-provoking quotes and moments in the movie. It’s not one of those where I think, ‘oh, it wouldn’t take too long for us to get to this point.’, mainly because I don’t think they’d come up with the technology needed to make it happen. But the greed and the whole idea that it’s ok for many to die in order that a few live is not a very foreign concept. We are selfish people, and many would hoard time, being sure that they would never die, and not caring that others would die because there wasn’t enough time in the world for everyone.
There’s a part that really caught my attention. Will and Sylvia, the main characters are talking. Sylvia is asking Will how he can stand having such a small amount of time at his disposal. She is used to having unlimited time, and the idea that she will live forever. This is part of the conversation they have:
Sylvia: “Will, if you get a lot of time, are you really gonna give it away?”
Will: “I've only ever had a day. How much do you need? How can you live with yourself watching people die right next to you?”
Sylvia: “We don't watch. We close our eyes.”
This is something that does resonate in our society right now. Because, let’s be honest...how much time do we really have? I mean really, we’re not guaranteed to have even a full day ahead of us. I could drop dead with no warning. You could die before you finish reading this. And yet, so much of our time is spent on our own comfort. Trying to add more time to our lives, or at the very least, trying to protect what time we think we have. Oh, it’s not always technically at the expense of others, but as we are self-focused, we don’t take the time to help others.
We close our eyes. We pretend that those who are dying simply do not exist. We go on about our days, acting as though protecting our own lives is our God-given task. Though Proverbs states pretty clearly the exact opposite.
Proverbs 24:11
Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
That doesn’t sound at all like we are supposed to go through life with our eyes shut, pretending that things are perfect around us. We are supposed to get close to those who are hurting; those who are so close to death that they don’t even care what they are staggering toward anymore.
In the movie, the people who give time to others who are running out of time are a threat to “normal society” due to the fact that they are giving hope. Hope is at the same time an incredible gift, and a huge danger. To those who are close to death, hope can change their outlook, make them willing to fight. For those trying to remain in control by destroying hope, hope is a weapon that can be used against them.
Giving hope is a dangerous job. Are you willing to do it anyway? Will you open your eyes and see what is happening around you? Will you accept the fact that you have only one day, and do the best you can with that one day? That way, if you are granted another day, you already know how to make the best of it.
There’s a part that really caught my attention. Will and Sylvia, the main characters are talking. Sylvia is asking Will how he can stand having such a small amount of time at his disposal. She is used to having unlimited time, and the idea that she will live forever. This is part of the conversation they have:
Sylvia: “Will, if you get a lot of time, are you really gonna give it away?”
Will: “I've only ever had a day. How much do you need? How can you live with yourself watching people die right next to you?”
Sylvia: “We don't watch. We close our eyes.”
This is something that does resonate in our society right now. Because, let’s be honest...how much time do we really have? I mean really, we’re not guaranteed to have even a full day ahead of us. I could drop dead with no warning. You could die before you finish reading this. And yet, so much of our time is spent on our own comfort. Trying to add more time to our lives, or at the very least, trying to protect what time we think we have. Oh, it’s not always technically at the expense of others, but as we are self-focused, we don’t take the time to help others.
We close our eyes. We pretend that those who are dying simply do not exist. We go on about our days, acting as though protecting our own lives is our God-given task. Though Proverbs states pretty clearly the exact opposite.
Proverbs 24:11
Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
That doesn’t sound at all like we are supposed to go through life with our eyes shut, pretending that things are perfect around us. We are supposed to get close to those who are hurting; those who are so close to death that they don’t even care what they are staggering toward anymore.
In the movie, the people who give time to others who are running out of time are a threat to “normal society” due to the fact that they are giving hope. Hope is at the same time an incredible gift, and a huge danger. To those who are close to death, hope can change their outlook, make them willing to fight. For those trying to remain in control by destroying hope, hope is a weapon that can be used against them.
Giving hope is a dangerous job. Are you willing to do it anyway? Will you open your eyes and see what is happening around you? Will you accept the fact that you have only one day, and do the best you can with that one day? That way, if you are granted another day, you already know how to make the best of it.
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