The Problem with Instant Gratification (10/03/24)

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Plain Bible Teaching Podcast

This week we’re talking about how our culture has changed to the point that no one wants to WAIT for anything. People, in general, are more impatient than ever, and this has a negative impact on our health, finances, relationships, and even our spiritual well-being. In this episode, we’re going to talk about how dangerous the desire for instant gratification can be, as well as how waiting can be beneficial to us.

STORY – The Lost Art of Waiting

“The fact is, the experience of waiting forces a negotiation between our present and future selves. Our present self wants immediately to devour that Cinnabon pastry we smell wafting through the airport. Our future self may need us to resist it, to maintain a healthy weight. And when people see their time as a valuable, fleeting resource, they become less likely to patiently pursue long-term goals.

“Hence why, perhaps, researchers have linked the increase in Americans’ impatience to the rise in both obesity and debt, as well as the decline in savings, and the increase in gambling. We, as a society, are losing our ability to delay gratification, to patiently plan ahead. We value the new and the now, which is having a disturbing impact on—among other things—the realm of public discourse. In the media, we have come to prefer reaction to deliberation. We respect expertise less, because it takes time to develop and mature. In a culture used to immediate, brief responses, considered responses are often drowned out by a chorus of louder, less-informed voices.

“Patience is a virtue. Good things come to those who wait. These phrases are cliché, but the evidence suggests they’re true. We benefit from appreciating that the most important things in life take time. From accepting that waiting is inescapable, no matter how much technology views it as a problem to be solved.” (The Free Press)