The Prize

The message “out there” is that life is all about time and money. These can
indeed serve as measures for success, provided we take the time to define how
much of both we really need (and for what), but we shouldn’t get too impressed
with them.
Imagine that you have won the following PRIZE in a contest:
Each morning your bank deposits $86,400 in your private account for your personal
use.
However, this prize has specific Rules:

1. Everything you didn’t spend during each day would be taken away from you.
2. You can’t simply transfer money into another account. You may only spend it.
3. Each morning, the bank deposits in your account another $86,400 for the day.
4. The bank can end the game without warning; at any time, it can say, “Game
   Over!” It can close the account, and you will not receive a new one.
   What would you personally do? Maybe you would buy anything and everything you
   wanted; not only for yourself, but for all the people you love and care for; maybe, even
   for people you don’t know, because you couldn’t possibly spend it all on yourself. No
   doubt, you would try to spend every penny and use it all, because you know it will be
   replenished the next morning, right?
   The “story” behind the magic bank account is deeply moral: the “intended
   takeaway” is that we should realize that we were all already winners of 86,400 –
   except that the prize is time: we receive 86,400 seconds every single day.
5. Each morning each of us awakens to receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life.
6. When we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is not credited to us.
7. What we haven’t used up that day is forever lost. Yesterday is forever gone.
8. Each morning the account is refilled, but your account can be dissolved at any time
   and WITHOUT WARNING…
   Just having the time, or the money, doesn’t do the trick; what we need are the
   strategies to make them work to our advantage. That’s something we can’t
   delegate responsibility for. It takes a conscious decision to create a life
   we enjoy, irrespective of our financial situation or the commitments that keep
   us busy.
   It saddens me to see people confused about why they exist, searching for some
   form of belonging and trying to change what God created into something else
   that they feel would better fill their inner longing. It just makes me so sad. At the
   core of every human being is a deep longing and desire to be loved, accepted
   and worthy. ONLY God can provide this. No man can provide acceptance like
   God.
   It has been well said, “Our days are identical suitcases, all the same size, but
   some people can pack more into them than others”! So, what will YOU do with
   your daily gift of 86,400 seconds? Those seconds are worth so much more than the
   same amount in dollars.
   Think about it and remember to enjoy every second of your life, because time races by
   so much more quickly than you think it will. Take care of yourself; love the Lord with all
   your heart, be happy, love deeply, and enjoy every second of the life you have been
   given!
   It seems only fitting that we should show deep gratitude to Father God and not
   only reserve our best for Him, but to offer up ourselves to Him daily. “So
   teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalms 90:12
   Here’s wishing you a wonderful and beautiful day. Start spending your gift
   consciously and wisely and refuse to complain about growing old, as many
   never get to know the experience of so many seconds in their present lifetime.
   Blessings, Ben