Pensamientos para hoy (afterthought for today)
Daylight-saving Time
In 1784 Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to the Journal de Paris proposing that Parisians wake up at dawn and go to bed early as a way to save on the cost of candles and oil for lamps.1 This scheme for the better use of daylight was later advanced by William Willett when in 1907 he wrote "Waste of Daylight." Willet says "For nearly half the year the sun shines upon the land for several hours each day while we are asleep . . . when we reach home after the work of the day is over . . . there then remains only a brief spell of declining daylight in which to spend the short period of leisure at our disposal." Willet proposed changing the time in Great Britain to make better use of sunlight and cites as examples similar time changes already in use in Australia and South Africa.2 The idea took effect during World War One when in 1916 countries in Europe changed the time to conserve energy and money for the war effort. For the same reason the United States made the change of time in 1918. This change lasted only for one year. The time change was again made law during World War Two, but again the time change lasted only for a few years. Not until the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo did Congress pass the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act which gave us our current system of Daylight Saving Time.3 The thought that we can make better use of daylight seemed to be a novel idea to Benjamin Franklin who wrote sarcastically that Parisians didn't wake until noon and stayed up late into the wee hours of the night. Franklin, however, wasn't the first person to encourage us to make the best use of the light. Jesus says:I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life. . . We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world. . . . Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. . . But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him (John 8:12; 9:4-5; 11:9-10).4Daylight-saving Time helps us make better use of the available sunlight. The sunlight is always there, but some of us are sleep. Then at night we must use artificial light. So too the power of Jesus is always present, but if we are spiritually asleep, then we miss his power and wisdom. Jesus wants to shine on us, but we must rise and meet him. As the Bible says: "Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you (Ephesians 5:14)." In our own power we will always be in the dim-lit shadows of human limitation, but when we seek him, we will live the abundant life of Jesus. Seeking the light of Jesus, Pastor Steve March 7, 2008
Footnotes1 Benjamin Franklin, Letter to the Editor as printed in The Journal of Paris, 1784 [web-page] Webexhibits available at: http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/franklin3.html. Internet accessed March 7, 2008. 2William Willett, Waste of Daylight, pamphlet written in London in 1907 [web-page] Webexhibits available at: http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/willett.html. Internet accessed March 7, 2008. 3 Daylight Saving Time [web-page] Webexhibits available at: http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/e.html. Internet accessed March 7, 2008; Bob Aldrich, Saving Time, Saving Energy: Daylight Saving Time, Its History and Why We Use It [web-page] California Energy Commission available at: http://www.energy.ca.gov/daylightsaving.html. Bob Aldrich, 1995-2007. Internet accessed March 7, 2008. 4 John 8:12; 9:4-5; 11:9-10, NASB (New American Standard Bible). Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.
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