Life's Answers in Three Minutes

                      

If your therapist is on vacation, you can sit with an eight-member panel of psychiatrists and psychologists who offer three minute sessions of what is billed as “speed shrinking.”  So says an article in the August 31 issue of the New York Times.  One of the therapist, Jonathan Fast says, “At first glance, this appears to be a funny, lighthearted thing.”My first reaction is,“Are you kidding me?”  Have we really gotten so busy in America that we don’t have time to talk to anyone about our problems for more than three minutes? 

It appears so.  This has rapidly (get it?) become a growing phenomenon in New York. Susan Shapiro, a journalism professor at the New School, claimed to have created rapid-fire therapy a couple of years ago after her regular therapist left New York for good. She took advantage of a generous health plan to visit eight therapists in eight days at $25 a session.  “It was a great way to learn which of them I had the most chemistry with,” said Ms. Shapiro, who organizes regular speed-shrinking gatherings in Manhattan.  

I personally believe that there is nothing wrong with people receiving therapy from qualified professionals, if they have a Christian world-view.  However, it seems somewhat trite to boil it down to three minutes! In our ever increasing world of sound bites, twitter statuses, and quick fixes, I fear we really are losing important relationships.

God wants us to be involved in the lives of people.  My prayer is that we will not forget to rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15).  In our hurried world, let’s slow down for just a minute. Spend a few minutes (at least three) today reading from God’s Word, speaking to God in prayer, and encouraging someone who needs to be encouraged.  Never forget the admonition from our Father, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!.” (Psalm 46:10)