I spent the summer of 2009 working in Dallas. I lived there 32 years before moving to Kentucky, which means I commuted to work for 10 years after college. When I moved to a small town I gained something of incredible value which I’ve only come to appreciate by being back in Dallas. I gained time. For most of human history, 90 percent of us were farmers. We lived and worked at home. But as prosperity spread to an increasing middle class and people began to move more and more into cities to work, an unforeseen time-sucking habit emerged: the daily commute. Technology tried to speed up the process, turning the walk or horse ride into a bus or car ride. But then we bought cars and instead of the commute getting rushed, it led to rush hours—two of them a day.

In Grayson, Kentucky, where I live and work, I can walk from my house to my office in one minute and 40 seconds. I can walk to my classroom in five minutes. Church is one minute the other direction. Stores, restaurants, and the high school are all within five minutes of home. A summer spent driving in Dallas reminded me how blessed I am.

I understand how tough it is on those of you who will have to commute for the rest of your lives. If your drive to work is 30 minutes a day (and another half hour coming home) and you work 50 weeks a year, you’ll spend 250 hours a year in your car, and that’s not counting trips to the store, the bank, your church, or to transport your kids. If you work for only 40 years in your life you’ll log 10,000 hours of driving time—and, again, that’s only work-related driving. Some people have shorter commutes. Fifteen minutes one way would only take 5,000 hours of your life. But a lot of people have much longer commutes. When I lived in Dallas I spent many years commuting 45 minutes to work. Most people in big cities would consider that average.

This insidious time-sucking activity called the daily commute (part of a larger harrowing experience we call “the rat race”) was certainly not what Paul had in mind when he wrote, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15, 16). But it occurs to me that so many of the dangers and losses of modern life occur without our thinking much about them or doing things differently in response.

We can limit our time watching TV, talking or texting on a phone, and fiddling on the computer in favor of better things; but what can be done about having to spend so much time driving from home to work? Is there anything we can do to follow Paul’s advice and “make the most of” even these opportunities?

The least likely strategy for most of us would be to move closer to work or change jobs. Only slightly more likely is the possibility of adjusting work hours to avoid the rush. Working 7 to 4 or 9 to 6 could cut valuable minutes from the drive, but this strategy depends entirely on your employer or the kind of job you work.

And so we come to slightly more doable options. If you live in a big city, and despite the apparent hassle of doing so, look into mass transit. You’re still traveling as much, but the time is now your own to “make the most of.” And be sure to do so. Don’t zone out and nap, don’t plug in head phones and listen to music—you can do those things any time. Read the books you’ve been saying you want to get to, read your Bible, make friends, or sit in silence and say long, diligent, daily prayers.

That leaves all of you who must drive to work. Can you car pool? Sometimes in carpools you can do some of the things mentioned above, and you can at least work on building relationships with co-workers. Praying while driving is not a bad thing. You can’t concentrate on God completely since you have to watch the road, but praying is better than letting the radio run. And then there are audio books, another way to “read” all those books you’ve wanted to read—books for pleasure and books for Christian growth. There are even audio Bibles. My friend Kevin Reed suggested using audio CDs to learn another language during the daily commute. Ten thousand hours on the road could mean a whole lot of books or Bible read and a whole lot of prayers said, if you’ll only “make the most” of what might otherwise be an evil time. |L

OTHER COLUMNS:
October 11, 2009 - Poets and don’t know it
September 27, 2009 - How Hollywood proves abortion is wrong
September 13, 2009 - Significance
August 30, 2009 - Dance alternatives
August 16, 2009 - Gluttons for gossip
August 2, 2009 - Truth from Twilight
July 19, 2009 - Visitor-friendly churches
July 5, 2009 - The Shack
June 21, 2009 - When forgiveness fails
June 7, 2009 - Re-imagining Education (Part Six)
May 24, 2009 - We are not alone
May 3, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part five)
April 26, 2009 - Conviction
April 12, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part four)
March 29, 2009 - An evangelistic proposal
March 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part three)
March 1, 2009 - He makes me sick
February 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (Part Two)
February 1, 2009 - Spiritual insecurity
January 18, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part one)
January 4, 2009 - Church and politics
December 21, 2008 - Heaven’s music
December 7, 2008 - The church and marriage
November 23, 2008 - God and the president
November 9, 2008 - A time for courage
October 26, 2008 - Likes and dislikes: the Prince Caspian movie
October 12, 2008 - What’s that noise?
September 28, 2008 - Modesty matters (part two)
September 14, 2008 - All it takes is some TLC
August 31, 2008 - Modesty matters (part one)
August 17, 2008 - What would you fight for?
August 3, 2008 - Staying through the credits
July 20, 2008 - Honor to whom honor
July 6, 2008 - Tyler Perry and the movies you’re missing
June 22, 2008 - The peaceable kingdom
May 25, 2008 - Another generation grew up
May 25, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part two)
May 11, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part one)
April 27, 2008 - What is truth?
April 13, 2008 - And the geek shall inherit the earth
March 30, 2008 - A charactered God
March 16, 2008 - The college choice (part two)
March 2, 2008 - Good news can be hard to hear
February 17, 2008 - The college choice (part one)
February 5, 2008 - Ten suggestions for a godly standard of living
January 20, 2008 - Expelled: that “Bueller” guy’s pro-God movie
January 6, 2008 - Choosing a lifestyle
December 23, 2007 - Teachable TV?
December 9, 2007 - Owners or stewards?
November 25, 2007 - Christians teaching Christians to change TV and film
November 11, 2007 - My money is God’s business
October 28, 2007 - Navigating under the radar
October 14, 2007 - The things God values
September 30, 2007 - Movie moments
September 16, 2007 - God’s economics
September 2, 2007 - The best books to read
August 19, 2007 - There’s a rat in ‘separate’
August 5, 2007 - The art of reading
July 22, 2007 - Atheist chic
July 8, 2007 - Why books matter: the sequel
June 10, 2007 - Books: why they matter
June 3, 2007 - The non-impact of “The Lost Tomb of Jesus”
May 27, 2007 - The universal gospel
May 13, 2007 - Loving Muslims through culture
April 29, 2007 - Hope
April 15, 2007 - God in the dark
April 1, 2007 - The gospel goes to the movies
March 18, 2007 - What the Bible movies can teach us
March 4, 2007 - What will you hurt for?
February 18, 2007 - Why Heroes . . .
February 4, 2007 - Give peace a chance
January 21, 2007 - When fairy tales are true
January 7, 2007 - WYSIWYG lives
December 31, 2006 - What’s coming next?
December 17, 2006 - Mercy, mercy
December 3, 2006 - Proof of evolution!
November 19, 2006 - Hungering for God
November 5, 2006 - Violence and government, war and peace
October 22, 2006 - The mighty meek
October 8, 2006 - The Battlestar and the Bible
September 24, 2006 - Soap for the soul
September 10, 2006 - Right vs. cool
August 27, 2006 - The painful truth
August 13, 2006 - More Lies Hollywood Tells
July 30, 2006 - Christian counter culture
July 16, 2006 - The lies Hollywood tells