A newspaper article recently reported on the rise of, shall we say, "condensed" spirituality enhancement aids. This is not to say, "quickie" spiritual growth. But it is to concede that people these days are busy, and time is more and more of the essence, so it becomes important for people who are interested in their own spiritual growth to attend to it in the few free moments they have.
Publishers are willing to accommodate. Evidently some recent titles include: "The One Minute Bible, Day by Day;" "5 Minute Theologian: Maximum Truth in Minimum Time;" "Aunt Susie's 10-Minute Bible Dinners: Bringing God into Your Life One Dish at a Time;" and "7 Minutes with God." If these sound too adult-only oriented, you could get, "The Kid Who Would Be King: One Minute Bible Stories About Kids." Don't even have time to read? Listen to an evangelical "Faith Minute" on the radio. Don't have time to stop? In Orange County there's a mega-church that offers "drive-time devotionals." Not Christian? There's a Temple in Los Angeles that offers a "Friday Night Live" gathering for young professionals that includes cocktails along with more traditional features. Buddhist? Check out "10-Minute Zen: Easy Tips to Lead You Down the Path of Enlightenment."
This whole trend is understandable and would be more laudable than laughable if it were not such a sad comment on our ever-dwindling attention spans. It probably started long before television, but since TV, it has been shown that the most we can pay attention at any given time is about 22 minutes, the length of the average television show. (When I say, "it has been shown," it isn't that I'm especially aware of any real research on attention spans. What I mean is that, "it has been shown" to most preachers by the elders in charge of their churches that the congregants can't really pay attention to a sermon that lasts much more than 20 minutes-- especially because sermons don't usually come with commercial interruptions, to give attention spans a break. To my knowledge, this information has not "been shown" to preachers in our African American churches.)
And now, we have the Internet, and Websites, and blogs... Like this one... Blogs, I am told, should be short-- about 250 words, by my estimate-- so that people can visit, scan and leave quickly. Not like this one...
But here's my point: as our technology becomes both more sophisticated and prolific, it changes us. One thing it changes is our attentions spans. I fear it shortens them-- and then I console myself with the hours on end my son can spend playing World of Warcraft on line!
The thing is, spiritual growth is both a daily and a sort of "World of Warcraft" thing: One has to pay attention over a number of years really if one is going to grow spiritually. It's not gonna happen in 5, 7, or 10 minute bites. Spiritual growth takes more sustained dedication than that.
So how DO we grow spiritually in a world where our lives are replete with distractions? I think the answer has more to do with changing the way we live than with trying to adapt our spirituality to fit with the little time we have for it.
At least, that is what seems to me to be yet another "inconvenient truth."
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2 comments:
I grew up in a Presbyterian Church where the church office received complaints if the sermon lasted more that 30 minutes. Now, my father belongs to a church where the service runs three hours. Obviously, this minister did not get the "Faith Minute" memo.
Don't think we can blame it all on tech. We started losing patience when the first McDonald's opened. Also, we are horribly over-scheduled. Who has time to think?
You make a sound point. Spirituality does not fit on our calendar. We must take it as it comes, or risk seeing not our spirits, but nothing more than a reflection in the mirror.
Write on! We'll read.
First, thank you for your comment-- esp the last paragraph!
Second: Gotta get me a coyote pic of my OWN! Blessings!
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