The Paradox of our Time!

[Guest guest]

The Paradox of our Time!The paradox of our time in history is that... We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers. Wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less. We buy more, but enjoy it less.We have bigger houses and smaller families. More conveniences, but less time.We have more degrees, but less sense. More knowledge, but less judgment. More experts, but more problems.More medicine, but less wellness.We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly,laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly,stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little,watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; We've added years to life, not life to years.We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space;We've done larger things, but not better things.We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've split the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less; We plan more, but accomplish less;We've learned to rush, but not to wait; We have higher incomes, but lower morals; We have more food, but less appeasement;We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication. We've become long on quantity, but short on quality.These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes.These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom. Indeed, these are the times!-The Credit of this piece belongs to Dr. Bob head, former pastor of Seattle's Overlake Christian Church. (He retired in 1998 after 29 years in that post). The essay appeared under the title "The Paradox of Our Age" in Words Aptly Spoken, Dr. head's 1995 collection of prayers, homilies, and monologues used in his sermons and radio broadcasts: