We dwell in a society that, as Jen Pollock Michel puts it, “is ruled by the clock’s iron fist.”

Our lives are often dictated by calendars and agendas, timers and deadlines. We speak of each day’s minutes as though they are a commodity to exploit:

Make time.
Save time.
Kill time.

There are, well, times when efficiency is a well-set priority. But how do we know when those times are, and what are the other priorities we should consider?

Michel suggests that thinking about time, productivity, and priorities through the lens of Lenten fasting might shed some light on the subject:

“Fasting reminds me that I live the time of the kingdom, a time measured by the slow rising of yeast, the slow growing of trees,” she writes. “To read the Bible as a record of God’s timekeeping is to notice God will not be hurried.”

Our culture seems to have no intention of slowing down, but that’s the thing about following Jesus. It will often look countercultural, but not because we are reacting to the world around us. Instead, faithfulness calls us to imagine a way of living within an often chaotic world, embodying the peace Jesus offers it.