When South Africa experienced a severe water shortage several years ago, our regular wet season passed with hardly any rainfall. Coupled with an urban population increase, this caused serious problems in the water supply.
During this time, we had a shock one day when we checked our water meter, as it registered nearly double our normal consumption. With the municipality hiking water rates to discourage waste and even promising to publish a “name and shame” list of the highest usage households, we were in quite a stressed state. Everyone set out to find the culprit. Extra luxuriant baths? No. Water fights in the yard? Nope. We couldn’t understand where the extra water was going.
Then someone heard a faint sound coming from one of the toilets. After investigation, we found that the overflow bar had fallen just a bit too low, allowing a tiny trickle of water to flow out and be wasted. The trickle was almost imperceptible, but over the course of a month, it had a massive impact!
The leak was fixed. Our heartbeats went back to normal.
A great victory, all in all! But that didn’t solve the whole problem. In order to make up for the extra cost of our water bill, we needed to be extremely frugal the next month. That meant no dishwasher running, all laundry done by hand, fewer and shorter showers, and recycling water for flushing toilets and mopping floors. We got through it, but how much easier it would have been if that leak had been caught early on!
This reminds me of how I use my time. In imperceptible amounts, I let time flow out of my day, never to return. We can sense a worldwide shortage of time; and the sand clock is emptying fast. Yet, too often I let my time disappear, needlessly and without anything to show for it. Then suddenly, I’m confronted with a deadline or another matter, and I “just don’t have the time!” So I suffer for my past wastefulness.
The Bible says: “Be careful how you act; these are difficult days. … Make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good” (Ephesians 5:15–16 TLB). Let’s get out there and catch the “leaks” in our lives so we can live fully and make a difference in our part of the world.