In the Epistle to the Ephesians, chapter 5, versicle 14 to 17, Paul of Tarsus invited mankind in the following sense:

“Wake up, oh sleeper, rise up from the death, and Christ will give you light. So be careful how you live, not as fool but as those who are wise making the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days.

Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.”

Paul used to indicate the ideal christian as being the sublime aim to be reached by men.

When he mentioned “these evil days” he meant the tribulations, the everyday difficulties that, yesterday as today, mark our lives.

Many are the pains which trouble our existences.

Tests and expiations are constant characteristics of the world where we live. Therefore, we should conduct our steps with care, not as fools who do not know what they are doing.

We should cultivate reflection, restoring the time lost in the paths of mistakes.

Time is a treasure of inestimable value conceded by God to all of us, in an indistinct way.

Minutes, hours and centuries last the same to all human beings.

But what use do we make of our time?

The way we use it, makes the difference, the outcome.

Do we make good use of our time or do we waste it?

Do we “kill” the time, having mere “pastimes”, or do we invest as it is a valuable coin capable of bringing us big profits?

Wherever we are, we can acquire precious legacy of experience and knowledge, of virtue and wisdom.

Therefore, we cannot allow the minutes to flow away fruitlessly.

Countless people pass their lives as they were plunged in a kind of somnambulism, in the dream of illusion.

They allow centuries to go by, cultivating only inconsequence and vice, jeopardizing the future with an inevitable harvest of suffering.

It is imperious, therefore, that we make the best of our time.

We can start off trying to correct our own imperfections.

Our vices, for example, do not mean just loss, but also a future compromise of our time.

How many minutes does someone who smokes lose, in a year, in the ritual of the nicotine puffs?

How many hours does someone need to work to feed his or her vice?

How many days will existence be shortened due to the diseases which result from the use of cigarettes?

How long will someone suffer, even after death, to reorganize the Spirit?

And the slanderer?

How many minutes does he or she spend talking about other people’s behaviour?

And how many lives will he or she spend after that, dealing with the wickedness in him or herself?

Countless are the options to the one who desires to perfect the Spirit!

Countless are the daily opportunities that come up to the ones who have eyes to see and ears to listen!

Discipline words and emotions.

Rehearse humble attitudes.

Train patience.

Amplify knowledge.

Stop the nasty language.

Here you have some initial suggestions to the ones who desire to valorously apply their time in real benefit.

After all, God offers us the blessing of time for the human experiences, but, sooner or later, we will be called to account by Divinity, to show how we utilize this precious gift.

Let us think about it, starting now.

Spiritist Moment Team, based on chapter O Grande tesouro, from the book Uma razão para viver, by Richard Simonetti, publishing house São João.