How much time do you have left? You know, to do what you said you wanted to do. To accomplish something good in life. Something to help others. Something to show that you are a good person, unselfish, generous, kind, compassionate, with a heart driven by a persistent urge to leave this world better than you found it. How’s that going? Any progress?

How much time do you have left to change the world?

In Parkland, Florida, 14 young people had only a few years to get it done, as few as 14, 15, 17 years. That’s not much time. Three adults who cared for them ran out of time, too, but while they were here, they took their stewardship responsibilities very seriously.

For most of my adult life, I have been drawn to the concept of stewardship, which is defined as the responsibility for taking care of something, such as an organization or property. Or one’s own life. As a commentator on a local radio station, I sometimes urged elected officials to do a better job as stewards of the town’s resources. Some of them didn’t seem to think much about their stewardship responsibilities, I thought. As individuals, what are we stewards of, exactly? What are we responsible for?

It is clear to me that we alone are stewards of the time we are given to live on this earth and to do what we can to make it better. Every day counts, every minute. We tend to be pretty casual about the time allotted to us, most of us. Got lots of time, years, decades, probably. Maybe. Just the other day, time ran out for 14 teenagers when they least expected it. From those who mourn their deaths we learn of the good these kids accomplished in the time they were granted.

But we have more time, than they did, haven’t we? Haven’t we? How much time do we have? What are we doing with it? I need to work on my stewardship. Right now. Today. What about you?