People rose with the sun, worked with the seasons, and gathered when their hearts and their feet led them there. Time was something we lived inside, not something we chased. That changed in the 1800s when the railroads demanded precision. Trains had to meet in the right place at the right moment or lives could be lost. Punctuality soon became more than practicality. It became a measure of who we were.
Today, our lives are stitched together by minutes, appointments, meetings, promises we make, yet beneath the schedule lies something deeper. Showing up on time is a simple way of saying, "I honor you. Your life matters to me." In my work at Church Health, I've learned that respect often begins with small gestures, arriving when we say we will, being present when we're needed, offering our time as a gift, not an obligation, because when we honor each other's time, we honor each other's humanity. This is Dr. Scott Morris for Church Health.
