Thursday, March 1, 2012

Our Time or God's Time

I recently watched the movie In Time starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried. I will admit right off the bat that I did not think it was an amazing movie overall, but it did have some interesting points that it was trying to make. Set in a future where time has become the only form of currency, this movie attempts to address what individuals would do with their time.

In Time takes place in the year 2161, where people have been genetically engineered to only live to the age of 25. Once an individual turns 25 they are given 1 years worth of time which appears on their arm as shown in the picture above. It is important to note that they do not physically age past 25, since it is a little confusing that even those living for a hundred years still look 25. In this world they are always losing time as they live and have to use their time to pay for everything. Of course individuals can earn more time by working or other various forms of more illegal activities.

In the movie the main character Will Salas, played by Justin Timberlake, meets a man who has over a centurys worth of time. Will helps to rescue the man from some thugs that want to steal his time. Once safe, the man reveals a couple of ideas that become the main thrust of the movie's plot. He tells Will that "For few to be immortal, many must die" alluding to the idea that there is enough time for everyone, but a few people are greedy and are trying to amass all the time for themselves. Will is upset by the idea that people are dying before they naturally should, just so others can be immortal. The man tells him that "your mind is worn out, even though your body may not be. We want, we need, to die." That night the man gives all of his time to Will, leaving himself a short amount of time, and essentially killing himself. Will then determines not to waste the time he was given and proceeds to upset the unjust system.

We have been discussing ideas of what it means to be a human being. We have determined that there is a material part and an immaterial part. There is the idea of the material body and then the immaterial mind. I thought it was interesting how the man had a youthful body, but his mind was weak. God knew what He was doing when he created us and we are not designed to live past our time. In Psalms 139:16 (NIV) it says that "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." God has a plan for each of us that fits perfectly into His plan.

In the movie the man's body had stayed young but his mind was growing weak. I know that this is science fiction however if we were able to genetically alter our bodies, what would happen to our minds. Being designed by God, I believe our minds would be affected by the unnatural alteration. Also what price would individuals have to pay so that others could have more time? I do not believe that God would intend that some people would die prematurely just so others could go on living for hundreds of years.

Ultimately the movie made me think about God's plan for our lives. I think part of our existence is that we do not know how much more time we have, therefore we are urged not to waste our time. Ephesians 5: 15-17 (NIV) says "Be very careful, then, how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."

3 comments:

  1. Great post. This reminds me of a quote from Steve Jobs--"If today were the last day of your life, would you want to do what you are about to do today? If the answer is no, something needs to change."

    We never know how much time we have left here, whether it is one day or a thousand days or more. We should never take it for granted. My best friend always says, "You only live once. What are you living for?" It's good to think about that.

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  2. I have seen this movie as well, and I found that we actually all have a time that we can waist by doing foolish things such as: Drugs, Alcohol, risky sexual behavior, etc. This could lessen our time. God has a plans and goals for us to accomplish in the time he has allowed us, and we in our choices choose whether to cut that time short, or to live it fully according to his will

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  3. Thanks for posting this article. It reminds me of a verse in the Bible, "teach us to number our days. That we may get a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). Because time is a present that God gives to us, we need to treasure it and recognize that time is not ours but God's. We should use it more cauciously and ask GOd to guide us to live His time wisely.

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