Maybe you need to know the following. “An erg is the unit of energy and mechanical work in the centimeter-gram-second (CGS) system of units, symbol ‘erg.’ Its name is derived from the Greek ergon, meaning ‘work’. . . .An erg is the amount of work done by a force of one dyne exerted for a distance of one centimeter. In the CGS base units, it is equal to one gram centimeter-squared per second squared (g·cm2/s2). It is thus equal to 1 × 10−7 joules or 100 nanojoules (nJ) in SI units.”
What? Sometimes the scientific description of matters really complicates matters. Another way of looking at the information above is to simply affirm that you only have enough energy (measured in ergs) to accomplish what you need to do. We do not have an infinite supply of energy, so we must make conscious choices as to how to use the “ergs” we have.
Take any period of your life. You only have so much energy to devote to the time being considered. You can only accomplish so much in a month, a week, a day or an hour. After a while you either have no more time or no more “ergs” to keep going. Understanding this is part of what Jesus had in mind when He said, “Take no thought for the morrow . . .”
Figuring out how to expend our energies is the problem we all face. How much time is devoted to work, to the family, to the church, to recreation or to private time? We begin every day with the fact that we only have so many minutes and so many “ergs” to use.
The problem is priority. We are limited. We cannot do all that society, family, employers, friends and others want us to do. We make this choice every day. Some things must be neglected each day! Even when we think we are not choosing to make a decision and just take life as it comes, we have decided to let others make that decision for us. We all have made choices as to the prioritization of the use of our “ergs.”
So what’s the point? Jesus described the conflict between the use of our energies in spiritual and secular matters. The word that was sown in the thorny ground is soon choked out “with cares, riches and pleasures of life and bring no fruit to maturity” (Luke 8:14). The gravest danger members at Palm Beach Lakes face is their over commitment to others and to activities in their lives in the use of their limited supply of “ergs.”
Will you take a serious look at the priorities you have placed in the use of the limited supply of time and energy you have? “Ergs” for God must be the top priority!