In a culture that idolizes productivity and efficiency, powered by the ‘virtue’ of busyness, there is always a shortage of time. In a culture where time is money, society structures itself so that the busiest people are often rich in money but poor in time. We all wish to live productive lives but the question is ‘What kind of productivity?’ Are we productive in our financial goals? Are we productive in building real non-transactional relationships? What kind of productivity are you pursuing? The god of money demands all your time yet you cannot serve Yaweh and Mammon. Mammon-Satan is a devouring dragon gobbling up every spare minute, so that there is not a minute to stop, breathe and love the stranger you just sped by. Mammon does not tolerate good Samaritans. Love simply needs time but it has to compete with time greedy money. The sacrifice, a worshipper of Mammon, must bring to the Altar of Mammon, are bags full of stolen time, often stolen from Love! Of course love does not only need time, its needs intentionality, desire and sometimes shorter high quality time is better than low quality drawn out relationship time but the defining characteristic of this age is overbusyness with too much information. How often are people accused of spending too much time on connecting with people? ‘Bitter min’ as they say in Afrikaans. Time is attention given and we pay attention. Quality attention is the currency of love but the world system is greedy for yours!Every hour, minute and second must be brought to the altar of Mammon. Mammon is a time glutton. It is greedy for time, it gobbles every second it can get. It hates sharing. Watch out! Do not let busyness STEAL your time. On the other hand, Love calls for your time, gently. To love well you require time. Time is the oxygen love breathes. How can you love fast? Lust is fast, love is slow. The culture of the day rewards flying high and fast yet Jesus walked low and slow and had time for people. If you choose busyness, you may win the trophies of busyness, such as high productivity prizes and be tricked by that beguiling concept of “IMPACT’, sold like hot cakes to the unwary Christian pilgrim desperate for purpose but not secure in his identity in the finished work of Christ. If you do not have love you are nothing. Existentially, you are a net zero without love, without time. Without time you are poorer than a church mouse, who though dirt poor, has the time to enjoy bread crumbs with his good friends. Love needs time, more than your money. God wants our heart more than our stuff. Redeem time for love sake! Avoid the extremes. Let Temperance’s voice be heard.  Who regretted spending too little time in the office on their deathbed? Of course, love and financial gain are not oppositional, when there is temperance. Love works hard to provide for its beloved. Depending on circumstance, feeding your family by working long hours is the definition of love but it is hard not to see the excesses of a prosperity-in-material-goods culture, not overshadowing a prosperity-in-authentic-relationships culture. May we smell the coffee and wake up!  No one will regret lingering in fellowship another hour with the Lord or His glorious people or a beloved family member in the age to come but many will regret handing over too much of their precious time to overwork due to the pressure of a sick culture that is crazy busy. Love needs your time, your presence, your heart. Less is so often more. https://andrebaard.com/s-l-o-w-church/#slowlife