Fundamental Christians Against Filipino Time!

It's basically a problem among Filipinos as many of them tend to practice the habit of "Filipino time" or in short NOT BEING ON TIME. I could remember how irritating this could get- I made an appointment at 1:00 P.M. and he arrived at 2:00 P.M. or much later. Or I remembered my days in secular education that starting programs are always one hour late and then they say, "Hey better late than never." But the Bible would call such men as liars and not redeeming the time. You had your word you would show up at THAT TIME, why did you show up ANOTHER TIME? All I can say is, punctuality is a virtue that all must learn to cultivate because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16).

So here's a little bit of Charles Spurgeon's statement on punctuality, would he be a Filipino and not British, he'll say a lot more than this:

"As it is, we in this world cannot get away from the unpunctual, nor get them away from us, and therefore we are obliged to put up with them; but we should like them to know that they are a gross nuisance, and a frequent cause of sin, through irritating the tempers of those who cannot afford to squander time as they do."

Punctuality is one of the minor moralities, but it is one which everyyoung man should carefully cultivate. The very smallness of the virtuemakes its opposite vice the less excusable. It is as easy to be in time as it isto be five minutes late when you once acquire the habit. Let it be acquiredby all means, and never lost again. Upon that five minutes will depend aworld of comfort to others, and every Christian should consider this to be avery weighty argument.

We have no right to cause worry and aggravationto others, when a little thoughtfulness on our part would prevent it. If the engagement be for twelve o’clock, we have no authority to make it 12.5,and by doing so we shall promote nobody’s happiness. That odd fiveminutes may create discomfort for ourselves throughout the entire day, andthis perhaps may touch the sluggard a little more keenly than any lessselfish consideration.

He who begins a little late in the morning will have todrive fast, will be constantly in a fever, and will scarcely overtake hisbusiness at night; whereas he who rises in proper time can enjoy the luxuryof pursuing his calling with regularity, ending his work in fit season, andgaining a little portion of leisure. Late in the morning may mean puffingand blowing all the day long, whereas an early hour will make the pace aneasy one. This is worth a man’s considering. Much evil comes of hurry,and hurry is the child of un-punctuality.

The waste of other people’s time ought to touch the late man’s conscience.A gentleman, who was a member of a committee, rushed in fifteen minutesbehind the appointed hour, and scarcely apologized, for to him the timeseemed near enough; but a Quaker, who happened also to be on thecommittee, and had been compelled to wait, because a quorum could notbe made up to proceed with the business, remarked to him, “Friend, thouhast wasted a full hour. It is not only thy quarter of an hour which thouhast lost, but the quarter of an hour of each of the other three; and hoursare not so plentiful that we can afford to throw them away.”

We onceknew a brother whom we named “the late Mr. S____,” because he nevercame in time. A certain tart gentleman, who had been irritated by thisbrother’s unpunctuality, said that the sooner that name was literally truethe better for the temper of those who had to wait for him. Many a manwould much rather be fined than be kept waiting. If a manmustinjure me,let him rather plunder me of my cash than of my time. To keep a busy manwaiting is an act of impudent robbery, and is also a constructive insult. Itmay not be so intended, but certainly if a man has proper respect for hisfriend, he will know the value of his time, and will not cause him to wasteit. There is a cool contempt in unpunctuality, for it as good as says, “Letthe fellow wait; who is he that I should keep my appointment with him?”

If Charles Haddon Spurgeon would be a Filipino, he would really be preaching against the evils of the Spanish colonization, the very thing that introduced the manana habit into the culture of Filipinos. It's just downright absurd how many Filipinos make a virtue out of being late when it is not a virtue. In fact, tardiness is tied up with laziness and is one footman everybody must deal with in them!

Here's also an excerpt of Matthew Henry's commentary of Ephesians 5:15-21

"It is a great part of Christian wisdom to REDEEM THE TIME. Good Christians must be good husbands of their time and take care to improve it for the best of purposes by watching against temptations, by doing good while it is in the power of their hands, and by filling it up with proper employment- one special preservative from sin. They should make the best use they can of the present seasons of grace. Our time is a talent given us by God for some good end and it is misspent and lost when it is not employed according to His design. If we have lost our time heretofore we must endeavor to redeem it by doubling our diligence in doing our duty for the future. The reason given is because the days are evil, either reason of wickedness of those who dwell in them, or rather, 'As they are troublesome and dangerous times to you who live with them.'. Those were times of persecution wherein the apostle wrote this: the Christians were in jeopardy every hour. When teh days are evil we have one superadded to redeem the time especially because we do not know how soon they may be worse."

I would really remember how Bethany Christian School so dear in my heart, that school that would really start its programs on time, trying to keep tardy at bay the latest they would be late to stat a program was but a minute and they tried to cut of any slack time. What a difference had it made that good old Baptist school that taught us moral values, not to cherish the world and with its constant preaching. Sadly so many students whop had finished from grade one up to the last year of high school refused to accept the school's morality, spat at it and sought to be freed from it. But for me, that school showed me how much of a dirty rotten sinner I was, the school that brought me values and I still cherish that school on top of the hill.