“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Ephesians 5:16 (KJV)
An African adage says:
“The child who refuses to listen while young will listen to silence when old.”
A STORY:
THE WASTED YOUTH OF AZU-ANU-KA
Azu-anu-ka was a young man blessed with strength in his bones and fire in his blood. His mornings were long, his nights longer, and his confidence louder than wisdom. Elders spoke to him of seasons and responsibility, but he laughed, saying, “Time is plenty. Life will wait for me.”
He spent his youth chasing applause, drowning purpose in pleasure, and trading discipline for distraction. Opportunities knocked gently, then loudly, then stopped knocking altogether. He mocked counsel, postponed growth, and treated tomorrow like an obedient servant that would always show up.
Years passed quietly, the way thieves walk. One morning, Azu-anu-ka woke up older. His body still lived, but his chances had aged faster than his face. Friends he laughed at were now pillars; paths he ignored were now closed. He tried to go back, to correct, to redo, to reclaim, but time stood firm. It did not insult him. It simply refused to move backward.
In that moment, Azu-anu-ka learned a truth sharper than pain: time does not reverse itself for regret.
THE IRREVERSIBLE RIVER OF TIME
Time is not a circle; it is a river. It flows forward with or without our consent. Moments do not repeat themselves. Each second is born once and buried forever.
Regret arises when the mind realizes that a choice once possible is now impossible. The tragedy is not that mistakes were made, but that time offers no rewind button. Life records everything in permanent ink.
Wisdom, therefore, is not merely knowing what is right, but doing it while the opportunity is alive.
THE DANGER OF DELAY AND SELF-DECEPTION
The human heart has a dangerous habit: it overestimates future discipline and underestimates present responsibility. We tell ourselves, “I will change later,” unaware that later is a fragile promise.
Delay is often fear disguised as comfort. We postpone action because growth demands effort, and effort demands courage. Regret is frequently born not from bad decisions, but from delayed good ones.
Time does not punish delay; it simply outgrows it.
YOUTH IS NOT WASTED BY FUN, BUT BY AIMLESSNESS
Enjoyment is not the enemy of life; aimlessness is. Azu-anu-ka did not fail because he laughed, he failed because he lived without direction. Youth is capital. When invested wisely, it yields stability and peace. When spent carelessly, it produces nostalgia and bitterness.
Every season of life has an assignment. When a season passes unused, the next season arrives with a deficit.
REGRET IS A TEACHER THAT ARRIVES TOO LATE
Regret is honest, but it is cruel in its timing. It tells the truth after the opportunity has expired. It educates the heart when the hands can no longer act.
Conscience becomes louder when consequences have settled. This is why wisdom speaks early, while regret whispers late.
Those who listen early live lightly. Those who ignore early carry heavy memories.
TIME AS A SACRED TRUST
Time is not just a measurement; it is a trust. Every breath is borrowed. Every day is a gift with responsibility attached. To waste time is not merely poor planning, it is poor stewardship.
Life is weighed not by length, but by faithfulness. What did you do with what you were given when you had it?
Heaven counts seasons, not excuses.
THE SILENT GRIEF OF MISSED BECOMING
One of the deepest pains of regret is not what happened, but what never happened. The unrealized potential. The unlived discipline. The person you could have become.
This creates an inner conflict where the present self meets the abandoned self. Time does not reconcile them. Only acceptance and wisdom can.
This is why early obedience to purpose saves years of silent grief.
NO ONE ESCAPES THE CONSEQUENCES OF TIME
Time is impartial. It rewards diligence and exposes negligence without emotion. It does not hate the careless; it simply leaves them behind.
Freedom without responsibility turns into bondage. The more time is wasted, the fewer choices remain. Life shrinks not because time is short, but because opportunities are fewer.
Time forgives nothing, but it teaches everything.
REDEMPTION BEGINS WHERE REGRET ENDS
Though time does not reverse, wisdom can redirect. While the past cannot be changed, the present can still be rescued. Azu-anu-ka could not become younger, but he could become wiser.
Grace does not erase consequences; it restores meaning. The lesson of regret is not despair, it is urgency.
Do not mourn yesterday so deeply that you waste today.
THE PRESENT IS THE ONLY DOOR STILL OPEN
The present moment is the only place where change is possible. Yesterday is instruction. Tomorrow is hope. Today is responsibility.
Healing begins when attention returns to now. Obedience delayed is often obedience denied.
Use the present well, because it will soon join the past and speak about you.
A FINAL CALL TO WISDOM
Time does not reverse itself for regret, but it still moves forward for those who awaken. Let the story of Azu-anu-ka not be a mirror of sorrow, but a warning of mercy.
Live deliberately. Choose early discipline over late apology. Honor seasons while they are alive. Do not assume tomorrow will negotiate with today’s negligence.
May wisdom meet you before regret does.
