Timekeepers
I love my Apple watch. Why? It gives me the time and all sorts of other information, too. I can measure my walks, check the weather, and even remind me to take a few minutes to breathe and relax. And the best part? I can talk into it like a secret agent, turning regular phone calls into adventures in communication.
My iWatch isn't the most intriguing timekeeper I have, though. That honor goes to my great-grandmother's Seth Thomas shelf clock. Standing just over two feet tall, it has a glass and wooden door that allows the user to set the clock and wind it with the key. These clocks were very popular in the 1800s, and the company lasted into this century.
Seth Thomas was born in Connecticut in 1785. He began making his iconic clocks in 1813, and The Seth Thomas Clock Company was credited with many innovations in timekeeping, such as mass production and the invention of the shelf clock. They even invented the alarm clock! In 1875, the town in Connecticut where the clock factory was was renamed "Thomaston" in his honor. They were a big deal.
Seth Thomas clocks were so well-built that some have been placed in rather famous places. For example, there is a Seth Thomas clock in Grand Central Station in New York City and one in the clock tower of Fireman's Hall in Allegany County, New York. Perhaps the most celebrated Seth Thomas Clock is the Centennial Tower Clock for Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Prepared for the 100-year anniversary of our country, the clock was finished in June 1875. The clock's bell weighed 13,000 pounds, one thousand pounds for each of the original 13 colonies.
The contractors of Independence Hall didn't choose Seth Thomas Clocks at random. Instead, they chose them because of their reputation and their promise of quality. This is an excerpt from a Seth Thomas Clock Company catalog in 1863:
"That our business has throughout half a century steadily increased from a small beginning to its present dimensions, is sufficient evidence of the quality of our work. No pains will be spared to maintain and increase the reputation of the 'SETH THOMAS CLOCKS' and we give our warrant to the full amount of the cost, that every clock that leaves our factory, if properly used, will prove a good Time Keeper."
As beautiful as my great-grandmother's Seth Thomas clock is, it doesn't work anymore. My mom had a local clock worker clean it and try to repair it twenty or so years ago. But, unfortunately, it was beyond repair. And, the Seth Thomas Clock Company recently went out of business. So, in essence, the clock is a lovely 150-year-old dust catcher.
My great-grandmother probably used this clock to help her judge her progress on chores or meal-making. How many times did the chime sound throughout the house marking the hour? Throughout the years, how many members of different households glanced at the clock to get a point of reference based on the time? It could have been a predominant fixture of the day and evening.
But nowadays, it is a shell. Once it told time and its chime sounded clearly, but it does neither now. Why? Is it simply because it's old? No. Rather, it is because it has had a lot of wear and perhaps wasn't, as the excerpt said, "used properly." The Alabama humidity and the floating dust of fields and dirt roads might have harmed it. Perhaps even little animals or insects got into the cabinet and messed up the workings. The pieces are all there: the pendulum, the key, the workings, but it is missing something that will make it go. Maybe that something was the care that should have been taken throughout the years.
If this little clock could sound out, it might give a warning to us as Christians. Yes, we come from a good Maker, the greatest of all. But, being a prominent fixture of the faith is not what keeps us strong. Both of the clocks in Independence Hall and Grand Central Station still work. Why? I believe it is because of upkeep. Someone is in charge of making sure the parts are working and are in good repair.
Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15,16
Seth Thomas promised good Time Keepers. Are we good timekeepers? Are we good stewards of the time our Maker gives us? If so, we are someone that others can rely on. We can be Christian friends to those who may need to check their progress. We can be standards, points of reference, if we stay in good working order, filling ourselves with the Word and with the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Well, my Apple watch is telling me to stand up and walk around for a few minutes. What would my great-grandmother think of that? She would probably have something to say about how I am stewarding my time! But, she also might have appreciated a reminder to breathe and relax every now and again.
