What do we want? Instant gratification! When do we want it?

Thanks to Phil Wilding who sent this into the SMH recently.....

It reminded me of a sermon i heard a few weeks ago where we were looking at Genesis and how just like Jacob did, we ought to be wrestling, contenting with God. We're too used to having everything done for us NOW - instant noodles (which i had for lunch today), instant internet, instant messaging etc.

Here's some choice comments from Mr Wilding (who maybe i suspect is a Christian......dunno)

'Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can. Seldom in a woman, never in a man.'

In the world of the noughties, this adage really has added bite. There is less room for patience than ever more. Even worse, there is little room for expectation, or the joy of anticipation.

I took a photo of my granddaughter on my now outmoded, got-to-have-film-in-it camera. She immediately said "Can I see it?". Obviously her dad's got a digital. There's no need to wait.

In the noughties we want instant gratification. The price we pay is loss of the joy of anticipation.

Communication is now instant. You can join chat rooms on the net; text on the mobile; call people from wherever you may be. On the train? No problem! Just call them and yell out your secrets

During the time of the dinosaurs, my then fiancee and I were teaching in different locations in the bush.......we communicated by writing letters (what's that?). It took time, and thought, to compose a letter. You thought about the person, you thought about what you wanted to say; and you waited with excitement and anticipation for the reply. The waiting, the thinking, deepened the feelings and developed a relationship based on more than physical closeness and pleasure.

In his book Surprised By Joy C.S Lewis wrote of joy as 'an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any satisfaction'. He said, 'It is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still 'about to be'.

We have lost this joy, even in little things. Think about showbags. For months before the Show we would dream of what exciting things we might get. Now kids get on the net before the Show, suss out what's in each bag and its done and dusted before they leave the house.

As an aside......the impact of all this on work and family is documented here