Running Late

I attended the dentist yesterday. My appointment was 10.30, and I duly arrived at 10.26. It is only a few minutes’ walk from my home and I presented myself at reception. The lady behind the screen almost leapt in surprise as she fumbled around putting on her mask.

“I didn’t expect you so soon”, she explained.

“Oh I’m sorry”, I replied. “I thought my appointment was 10.30.”

“Yes. That’s what we have you down for. It’s just you are early”.

By this time, it must surely have been 10.27. Incredibly, both the dentist and the dental nurse both then entered the building from the car park, separately, passing us as they went to get changed. The appointment started 5 minutes later. I began to wonder if arriving a few minutes early and expecting to start at an agreed time was now an unreasonable expectation; perhaps I was an exotic relic of some previous era.

Someone shared with me this week about a Christian youth meeting. Advertised to start at 7.30pm, the speaker did not arrive until 8.20, on the grounds that few of the congregation appear before 8.30. This would set my blood aboil. If punctuality is the politeness of kings, it might also be an attribute of God’s people. I do not use this as an opportunity to have a pop at members of my congregation- lateness is sometimes unavoidable. Frustratingly, I myself was rendered two hours late, yes TWO HOURS, by the closure of the motorway last August bank holiday. The place I was heading was but one hour’s drive. Yet people at Salem will often see me checking my phone just ahead of commencing a meeting. I am not checking for text messages; I am ensuring the meeting starts right on time.

The Bible speaks relatively little of punctuality. Indeed, it has much more to say about patience, a virtue which unpunctuality helps to nurse. Tempting as it might be to quote Hezekiah 4:45 (‘The righteous man doth keep his word; the hour of his appointment doth he so honour’), I shall content myself with Ephesians 5:16 (ESV):

Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Sin is a wasting disease and it turns us into wastrels. The godly neither squander nor waste their time when they meet together. Starting a meeting well after the advertised time dishonours the Lord’s people and misuses their precious time. Had my dentist been kept waiting by me, he might have charged extra or cancelled my slot, an admission that deep down, even the tardy prefer punctuality. 

Image by FunkyFocus from Pixabay