In his book Margin, Richard Swenson tells how in the 1960s people were testifying before Congress that in the future, one of the greatest challenges people would have would be filling all the extra time that they would have from the time-saving advances of technology.Yeah right. Technology actually takes time from us, because it speeds up the pace of life.
And note these stats. In a lifetime, the average American will:
- Spend six months sitting at trtaffic light waiting for them to change
- Spend one year searching through desk clutter looking for misplaced objects
- Spend eight months opening junk mail
- Spend two years trying to call people who aren't in or whose line is busy
- Spend five years waiting in lines
- Spend three years in meetings
This is a great book that talks about the dangers of leaving no "margin" in our finances, time, relationships, physical condition. It is a great book, written by a doctor.
Can you believe these stats?
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2 comments:
ln4506lnJames,
I used this book when I taught a class to young families on The Family. It is mind-opener to many. The cry and dance of especially the younger set is they have no time. All of us spend to much time working on things of the world instead of relationships that last. The reach for "things" and "position" minimizes margin for the important elements of life
Some of this busyness is unavoidable. There are many things which younger people have to deal with that older generations did not. The pace of life is much, much faster today than in the past. Some of this busyness is, as you say, caused by "working on the things of the world."
I am currently looking at the root causes of busyness, and how the missional church can address the brokenness that it represents.
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