What is the most valuable commodity on the earth? Crude oil? Natural gas? Gold?
There is of course another commodity which is far more valuable, and far more perishable, than any of these: time.
In his epistle to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul urged them to be circumspect and wise. Then, he said:
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:16
How are the days evil, and what does it mean to redeem the time?
Here’s how I interpret it: Time wasted is lamentable. Undisciplined time attracts low-value activities. To redeem something is to reclaim it and restore it to its proper place. We redeem our time by spending it on high-value activities.
Elder Ian S. Ardern said:
Time is never for sale; time is a commodity that cannot, try as you may, be bought at any store for any price. Yet when time is wisely used, its value is immeasurable. On any given day we are all allocated, without cost, the same number of minutes and hours to use, and we soon learn, as the familiar hymn so carefully teaches, “Time flies on wings of lightning; we cannot call it back” (“Improve the Shining Moments,” Hymns, no. 226). What time we have we must use wisely.
“A Time to Prepare,” General Conference, October 2011
Amulek urged the Zoramites not to procrastinate their repentance. “If we do not improve our time while in this life,” he warned, “then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed” (Alma 34:33).
Today, I will “redeem the time.” I will remember that my time in mortality is finite and that it is up to me to decide how to spend it. I will fill my life with high-value activities, striving to use wisely the time I have been given.