Limited Time

I just had a handful of thoughts come together and connect, as I sat drinking my morning coffee.  First, we are all limited in our time.  At best, we will have 100 years of life. One third of that will be spent sleeping, so we are immediately cut down to 66 years of conscious living.  Another 1/3 to 1/4 will be spent earning a living, and, in many cases, doing a job that we really do not find that interesting or fulfilling.  Then there are the "must-do's" in life, things like: eating, bathrooms necessities, driving/commuting, waiting for various appointments.
This comes down to probably only a few hours a day when we have the choice to make as to how to use the time.  In our day and age, in our culture, the mentality seems to be entertainment and comfort.  We will use our time doing something that we find entertaining, relaxing, exciting.  Pretty much we turn it into "me" time.  Is this right?  From all that we know about Scripture and the teaching of the church?
But I want to strongly emphasize, this is a matter of personal responsibility.  This must not turn into a Pharisaical exercise.  These are questions that we must ask ourselves and answer to ourselves, for ultimately, we will stand before God and give account for what we did with what we had (what he has given us).
You have to wonder. Are we living our lives in the very best way we can (ie loving God and loving neighbor)?  Or are we justifying our various actions and activities so that we can be comfortable?

Existence

What’s the point?  To be more exact, what is the point of my existence?  I probably cannot say that there is “a” point, as in a singular reason for my existence.  And even if there is, I could probably not comprehend or articulate it.  I do have responsibilities on my plate, some chosen, others ontological.  Simply being a human being, made in the image of God, gives me responsibilities.  I am responsible to love God and love neighbor.  Being married with children, I am responsible to lead and provide for my family.  Being an employee, I am responsible to fulfill my duties as a costing analyst, to the best of my abilities. This list can be expanded, i.e., a son, a brother, a neighbor, etc.

So the underlying question is this, what do our chosen responsibilities reveal about what we believe to be important?  And what do we do when that mentality changes after we have made those choices?  What amount of effort or price do we pay to get out of those responsibilities, if we come to a place where priorities have shifted?  Our position in life as laypeople (as opposed to monastic), automatically sets us up for certain responsibilities/freedoms/structure.  It seems that the American culture is having a direct (and often unnoticed/unspoken) affect upon these.
In short, we must avoid allowing alien beliefs and practices to control who we are and what we do.  Our faith is nothing if it does not directly affect every area of our lives.