Kronos was a bad dude. But Chronos is just as likely to eat you alive

Dear Friend,

Thinking about you a lot, of late. You seem very, well, busy. Dangerously so. So maybe there's something you should know.

Kronos was a bad dude. Maybe your kid read Percy Jackson, too. I know. We blacked out the windows and read by candle light, so all the serious C people wouldn't judge us. I mean, reading about Greek and Roman and Egyptian civilizations and their gods? Seditious stuff.

The story goes that Kronos was the father of Zeus. According to Greek mythology, Kronos was a Titan, one of the early gods and rulers of the earth. How did he come to rule? He conspired with his mother to castrate his father. Yeah. Can't imagine how awkward that made Thanksgiving. You think it's going to be uncomfortable in the Ferentz home this winter. in Iowa City. And how did Kronos keep his throne? He swallowed each of his children whole when they were borne. The Roman philosopher Cicero and the Greek historian Plutarch, born on either side of 1 AD, both collapse Kronos, the Titan in charge of the seasons, with Chronos the god of Time, or simply who we in middle America would colloquially refer to as "Father Time." Didn't know that expression had pagan roots? Wait until we get to Fate and the Wheel of Fortune. It' OK. Take a breath. Yes, Family Feud had it's origin in Genesis. But The Price is Right is still safe. Nothing pagan about those roots. Just pure American consumerism, and we all know God loves that.

Kronos met his downfall at the hands of his misplaced son Zeus, who was eventually able to imprison his father in much the same way that Kronos had imprisoned his father before him.

It's from this mythos that the word chronos gains its meaning. The Greek word chronos, from which we get such English words as chronological, simply means "time" Why is this background important? Stop and think about it. chronos-- time-- castrates the past, swallows life in the present, and imprisons the future. That. seems. brutally. accurate. Permanently weakened. Swallowed up. Imprisoned. No wonder everyone springs forth from their beds ready to meet the day.

There is, however, another word for time in the Dusty Book. Because, different in our understanding from the Greeks and Romans, we have a God stands outside of time. While the Greek gods were very much captive to their battles with time, the God we worship is Timeless. A God who controls time creates a new understanding of time. Chronos describes to day to day drudgery of watching of the clock move. It's the "daily grind" or simply that "time passes. So powerfully controlling and draining is chronos that Roman philosophers described it in this way:

Vulnerant omnia, ultima necat.

All the hours wound you, the last one kills.

Chronos. You know it well. You never have enough. You're running out. It drives your decisions. It colors your regrets. It worries your future. It steadily grinds away at your relationships. It's wearing you out and and weighing you down.

Sounds bleak. Feels worse. Did you ever wonder why? It's simple, if only you could stand with someone outside of time and see it. The minute you've mistaken yourself as imprisoned in time, it's not the sands of the hourglass that are going to weigh on you. It's the stones of scarcity. Recognize the problem with chronos time. There is never enough. Hungry, angry, lonely, or tired is a terrible place to springboard for decision making, Cotton. It never works out for the Littles or the Bigs. You're not going to want to see how that plays out for you.

Chronos is characterized by scarcity. Kairos, though? Kairos is borne in abundance. It's written by a God who stands outside of time. Kairos is the pregnant pause before the birth. Yes, I know, ladies. I have no clue. But you do,. So tell me more. It's often translated "at just the right time." At just the right time, a check came in the mail. At just the right time she showed up. At just the right time, I no longer felt that way. At just the right time, the clouds broke open. At just the right time, we got what we the answer to our desperate prayers. At just the right time, he got the encouragement he needed. At just the right time, Jesus died for us. All kairos.

OK, but that's God, right? God alone might stand outside of time. (Here, Einstein might even agree, scientist friend.) God delivers in kairos. We suffer under chronos. Not so fast, my friend. What if, instead of being chastised by the chaos of chronos chasing us into the chasm, we could live in kairos? What if we were build to live in kairos? Expectant time. Carefully intentioned time. Time as a tool in my arsenal, instead of the lord of my life. Too far? We both wish it was true. But if the simplest definition of worship is the thing at which I look at the most and the things about which I talk about the most, chronos seems like a legitimate candidate for lord.

Someone I deeply respect says that the object of our worship is truly the things we look at most and the things we talk about the mos. Ready for 20 percent truth question? Do you often look at the clock? Do you find yourself talking a disturbing amount about capacity? Because while it's good to have a sense of both, the tools can easily become the master. It seems that someone once said we can't serve to masters. We will always end hating one and loving the other. Kronos my be the god you've got. But is he the God you want? Or the God who desperately wants you? Chose well friend. You may, indeed, be running out of time.

thus spake,

me.