One of the greatest illusions of our day is that hurring will buy us more time. We buy anything that promises to help us hurry. The best-selling shampoos combine shampoo and conditioner to save time. We have combination hair brushes with dryers to brush and dry simultaneously. We have electric razors, electric toothbrushes with timers so we brush exactly the amount of time needed, not longer than necessary. We can have instant oatmeal, microwaved breakfast sandwiches, or drink an instant breakfast.
We worship at the shrine of the Golden Arches not because they serve good food, or even cheap food, but fast food. We get out of the car, walk in, order, and sit down.
If this is not fast enough we can go to the "drive thru" and eat in the car.
Our world has become the world of the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland.
" Now here you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that"
With all our new technology we thought we would save time, but our efforts have not produced what we were after.
"While American society is rich in goods, it is extremely time-poor. Many other societies by contrast are poor in material possessions by our standards, but they are rich in time.They are not driven or hurried. They live with a sense that there is adequate time to do what needs to be done each day."
Robert Banks
What is happening to us?
Are we sick?
Do we have "Hurry Sickness"
Meyer Friedman defines "hurry sickness" as a continuous struggle and unremitting attempt to accomplish or achieve more and more things or participate in more and more events in less and less time, frequently in the face of opposition, real or imagined, from other persons.
How do we know if we suffer from this sickness?
1. Are you haunted from the fear that there are just not enough hours in the day to get everything done?
2. Do you talk faster, read faster, and when listening , nod faster to encourage the other person to talk faster.
3. Do you like to wait? (Nobody likes to wait.)
4. Do you immediately pull into the fast lane on the interstate and push your way to the front driving entirely too fast?
5. At the grocery store, do you look for the shortest lines, even counting how many items are in someone's' cart to see who will move through the fastest? Then, do you keep track of the person who would have been you in the other line?
Do you get upset if someone has to count out the money or write a check?
6. Hurry sick people may drive, eat, drink coffee, or apply make-up, talk on the car phone and make gestures all at the same time. Do you?
7. Do you find yourself rushing even when there is no need to?
I am sure there are more ways you rush, but I think you get the idea.
Hurry is the great enemy of our spiritual life.
Hurry can destroy our souls.
Hurry can keep us from living well.
"Hurry is not of the devil; hurry is the devil"
Carl Jung
Jesus was often busy but never hurried.
He observed a regular practice of withdrawing from activity for the sake of solitude and prayer.
Hurry is not just a disordered schedule . Hurry is a disordered heart.
Love and hurry are fundamentally incompatible. Love always takes time, and time is one thing hurried people don't have.
That is why Jesus never hurried. If we are to follow Jesus-we must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our lives-because by definition, we can't move faster than the one we are following.