I have a confession. As much as I try to be purposeful with the time that I have every day, I sometimes catch myself down rabbit holes. I had this revelation whilst watching a few “Where Are They Now?” videos about childhood wrestling heroes who were at one time heroes but saw their storied careers, and sometimes their lives end tragically. Three hours later, I realised I’d just watched my evening disappear whilst my actual priorities remained untouched. Time had been spent, not saved, not invested, but spent on digital sand.
When I speak about digital sand, I think of the illustration of filling a jar with rocks, pebbles and sand. You know the one, right? The rocks represent what matters most, pebbles are work and study, and sand is everything else. The lesson: if you fill your life with sand first, there’s no room for rocks.
Here’s the brutal truth: we can’t bank time like money. We can’t save it for later or earn interest on unused hours. Every second that passes is gone forever, and we choose how to spend each one.
Jesus understood this urgency. In His Sermon on the Mount, He contrasted two builders: one who built on rock, another on sand. When storms came, only the rock-foundation house survived. Building your life on the sandy foundation of unimportant things is building for collapse.
The wrestling videos weren’t evil, but they represented time that could have been invested in my family, my calling, my growth. We tell ourselves we’ll tackle important things “later,” but later is built on the assumption that time is unlimited.
It’s not.
What rocks are you neglecting whilst playing in the sand? What dreams are you postponing whilst binge-watching mediocrity? Time is ticking. Use it intentionally.
