Waiting
Amazon, one of my favorite places on the internet, has just announced that they will be offering one-hour delivery in Manhattan, and they are hoping to expand this service to other parts of the country soon. One hour delivery costs $7.99 but if you are a Prime member, you can get two-hour delivery for free. Is it worth $8 to not have to wait that extra hour?
Internet video streaming services, like Target Ticket, iTunes and Amazon Prime Video (among others) are aggressively advertising that you can buy new movies on their service, usually two or so weeks ahead of the DVD arriving in stores, and download it instantly. You can begin watching it tonight...before anyone else! (Or at least before anyone who isn't also streaming it.)
McDonald's (at least in our area) advertises that, during peak hours, you can get your meal within thirty seconds of pulling up to the delivery window (not thirty seconds from when you order, but still...). Thirty seconds. Fast and hot. Jimmy John's advertises "freaky fast" delivery. And there are still some pizza places that tell you if you don't get it within 30 minutes or less, it's free.
Into my inbox just now came an e-mail promising that if I sign up for such-and-such a list, I can get my tax forms faster. Really? That's something I want more quickly?
We are a culture obsessed with speed. Get it now. Have it now. Eat it quickly and move on. Don't wait. Hurry, hurry, hurry.
And we wonder why we have so many stress-related health issues?
I know I've fallen victim to the need for speed. Because Christopher is a college student, we've been able to get "Amazon Prime" for the last six months for free. I've enjoyed the free two-day delivery so much I sometimes consider subscribing when the free period runs out...and I don't like to pay for delivery! There are times I will pay a bit more in a store to be able to have whatever it is in my hands that much quicker than waiting for an order to arrive. And there are times I find myself frustrated that deliveries are taking so long if they are delayed for a day or so.
We are obsessed with speed. We don't like to wait.
And into that world comes Advent, which is, by definition, a time of waiting. We don't care much for Advent. We may say we do, but we'd rather hurry on to Christmas. Stores begin "Christmas sales" in July (or so it seems) and TV and radio stations begin Christmas programming often before Thanksgiving. We don't like waiting.
How different from the time in which Jesus came. The people had waited 400 years at that point for a "new word" from God. The prophets had been silent for 400 years. The anticipation had been building. But it's wasn't unto "the time was right" that Jesus came. God spent 400 years preparing the people, asking them to wait because what he had in mind was so much worth waiting for. He was working, preparing hearts and minds and lives.
I wonder what God has prepared for us that we miss because we're in such a hurry?
Internet video streaming services, like Target Ticket, iTunes and Amazon Prime Video (among others) are aggressively advertising that you can buy new movies on their service, usually two or so weeks ahead of the DVD arriving in stores, and download it instantly. You can begin watching it tonight...before anyone else! (Or at least before anyone who isn't also streaming it.)
McDonald's (at least in our area) advertises that, during peak hours, you can get your meal within thirty seconds of pulling up to the delivery window (not thirty seconds from when you order, but still...). Thirty seconds. Fast and hot. Jimmy John's advertises "freaky fast" delivery. And there are still some pizza places that tell you if you don't get it within 30 minutes or less, it's free.
Into my inbox just now came an e-mail promising that if I sign up for such-and-such a list, I can get my tax forms faster. Really? That's something I want more quickly?
We are a culture obsessed with speed. Get it now. Have it now. Eat it quickly and move on. Don't wait. Hurry, hurry, hurry.
And we wonder why we have so many stress-related health issues?
I know I've fallen victim to the need for speed. Because Christopher is a college student, we've been able to get "Amazon Prime" for the last six months for free. I've enjoyed the free two-day delivery so much I sometimes consider subscribing when the free period runs out...and I don't like to pay for delivery! There are times I will pay a bit more in a store to be able to have whatever it is in my hands that much quicker than waiting for an order to arrive. And there are times I find myself frustrated that deliveries are taking so long if they are delayed for a day or so.
We are obsessed with speed. We don't like to wait.
And into that world comes Advent, which is, by definition, a time of waiting. We don't care much for Advent. We may say we do, but we'd rather hurry on to Christmas. Stores begin "Christmas sales" in July (or so it seems) and TV and radio stations begin Christmas programming often before Thanksgiving. We don't like waiting.
How different from the time in which Jesus came. The people had waited 400 years at that point for a "new word" from God. The prophets had been silent for 400 years. The anticipation had been building. But it's wasn't unto "the time was right" that Jesus came. God spent 400 years preparing the people, asking them to wait because what he had in mind was so much worth waiting for. He was working, preparing hearts and minds and lives.
I wonder what God has prepared for us that we miss because we're in such a hurry?
Comments
Post a Comment