A couple nights ago, a friend and I met at a local coffee shop to catch up. Our conversation turned to traveling and she began telling me about the time she and her husband spent in Europe.
She said that they quickly noticed that the Europeans seemed, on the whole, to be more fit that most Americans, even though local businesses would close down in the middle of the day to enjoy a long meal and it wasn’t uncommon for dinner to stretch late into the night. My friends couldn’t understand how these people, who seemed to spend so much of their time eating, managed to stay so lean.
Finally, her husband decided to ask a waitress to explain it to him. Her response was profound.
“You eat food fast,” she said. “We eat good food.”
She’s right, I think.
We often opt for fast over good. We choose convenience over quality. We think more about efficiency than we do enjoyment.
And we are paying a price for those choices. Our health is suffering. Cancer and heart disease are prevalent. More than half of all Americans are on medication – many on more than one.
Certainly, food is not the only factor. That’s not really the point, though.
The point is our tendency for fast over good – a mentality that spills into other parts of our lives.
Particularly, our relationships.
It is often how we approach our friendships, our marriages, our children and even God.
Relationships take work. They take investment. They take time. They are meant to be savored, cherished, enjoyed. When we prioritize convenience over community, we miss out on the goodness of relationships.
And we pay a price for that choice.
I’m going to choose to prioritize the good - the better. I hope you do too. Slow down. Savor the people in your life. Take time to enjoy your relationships - including (and especially) with God.
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