Seventh-day Adventist Church

2003 NAD Offering Call

“Becoming Faithful Stewards”

HOW QUICKLY THE DAYS PASS!

According to statistics, the life span of a person living in North America averages approximately 75 years. For men it is about 73 years and for women it is five years longer. Even though our years may reach the allotted “three score and ten” referred to by King David in Psalm 90, we seldom think of how our years have been used or should be used.

Here is the breakdown of the life of an average septuagenarian:

Sleeping -- 23 years

Work - 19 years

Amusements -- 9 years

Religious devotion -- 1 year (Should be 10 years for an SDA)

Eating - 6 years

Traveling -- 6 years

Medical -- 4 years

Dressing - 2 years

This does not take into account the amount of lost time waiting in line at the local supermarket, looking for lost items, returning phone calls, opening junk mail and sitting at red lights. These probably add up to another 5 years that need to be deducted from one’s

life span of seventy years.

As we begin this new year it might be well for us to ask this question, “Will we take time this year to do the most important things - things that have eternal value, or will we allow our time to be consumed with the cares of daily living?

Appeal text: “We spend our years as a tale that is told.” [Psalm 90:9]