In 1784, Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to the Journal de Paris in which he sarcastically accused Parisians of staying up all night and sleeping until noon. Franklin proposed that they go to bed early and wake up at dawn to save money on candles and lamp oil, which they had to burn because of their late-night activities.[1]

About a hundred years later, in Great Britain, William Willett also proposed changing the time to better use sunlight. Willett cited time changes already in use in Australia and South Africa, but the idea didn’t catch on. Then, during World War One, countries in Europe and the United States changed the time to conserve energy and money for the war effort, but this policy only lasted for one year. The same time changes took place during World War Two, but again the change was only temporary. It was not until the Arab Oil Embargo in 1973 that the United States Congress passed the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act.[2]

The thought that we can make better use of daylight seemed to be a novel idea to Benjamin Franklin, but Franklin wasn’t the first person to encourage us to make the best use of the light. Jesus says, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness but will have the Light of life (John 8:12).” Daylight-saving Time helps us make better use of the available sunlight. So too, the power of Jesus shines on those who seek him, and his light helps us to see the truth and live by the truth. In our own power we will always be in the dim-lit shadows of human limitation, but when we seek Jesus, we have the live-giving power of Jesus’ light.

---

Footnotes:
[1] Benjamin Franklin, Letter to the Editor as printed in The Journal of Paris, 1784 [web-page] Webexhibits available at: http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/franklin3.html. Internet accessed March 7, 2008.
[2] Daylight Saving Time [web-page]
Webexhibits available at:http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/e.html.  Internet accessed March 7, 2008; Bob Aldrich,Saving Time, Saving Energy: Daylight Saving Time, Its History and Why We Use It [web-page] California Energy Commission, available at: http://www.energy.ca.gov/daylightsaving.html. Bob Aldrich, 1995-2007. Internet accessed March 7, 2008.