Life is too fast

Have you ever noticed how rushed we are as a culture? I mean seriously, we have an acronym, abbreviation, or shorthand word for everything. We communicate in a hurried manner in almost every way possible. I remember a teacher I had in High School that would take points off if we used contractions in our papers. Now, it is very acceptable to use contractions most of the time.
Think about our everyday situations. What do ABC, NBC, CBS, NASA, FBI, CIA, NFL, NBA actually mean? What about CPU, MPG, MBA, AARP, ACLU, UNICEF?

The internet has made these abbreviations even more acceptable: WYSIWYG, WiFi, HTML, JPEG, MPEG, Mp3.
Throw in the newest craze of text messaging and you start to create a new language altogether.

This linguistic laziness creeps into our formal conversations also. We shorten words that don not necessarily require shortening. I know am minister that uses the word "relaship" as an actual word. He probably feels compelled to get so much information transferred to the congregation that he rushes through the word "relationship." I doubt that any others hear these subtle inaccuracies, but they irritate me.

I think it just boils down to the fact that for some reason we, as a culture, have allowed our lives to become so incredibly over-committed. We do not feel that there are enough hours in a day. I fear that this fast paced, break neck lifestyle is taking away from those things that should take priority: family, interests, hobbies, talents, spouses, education, and especially God. How often do we honestly take the time to pray, meditate, worship, and just "be" with God? If you are like me, then the answer is, "Not often enough."

An interesting passage from Scripture is Psalms 46:10

In the New International Version it reads:
10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

Other versions of this passage include The Message:
10"Step out of the traffic! Take a long,
loving look at me, your High God,
above politics, above everything."

The New Living Version says:
10 "Be silent, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world."

I think it is important for us not to get so caught up in the fast pace of our culture's busy-ness, but instead take time to reflect on God, embrace His truth, and His goodness.

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