7 minute read

by Bethany Rees

But First, A History Lesson

The era of the Great Depression (1929-1939) was the worst economic downturn in United States history with massive amounts of unemployment in industrialized cities and major droughts for agricultural farmers caused by the “Dust Bowl”. Twenty percent (20%) of the workforce was unemployed, farmers' crops were ruined, and most of the nation was suffering to make ends meet. During this unprecedented era of suffering, one of the best-known American songs to describe the plight of "every-man" was written; "Brother, Can you Spare a dime?”  

While financial crisis was the outcome of the Great Depression era, today we find ourselves in a new era exposing a new crisis that has been growing quietly in our families and social circles. 

Look around. Our family, friends, co-workers, employees, acquaintances and even ourselves are drowning in stress, anxiety, broken relationships, unrealistic expectations, and mental health issues. 

A New Era and a New Crisis

The era of the Pandemic is teaching our society so much! Not only are we learning about infectious diseases and supply chain issues, but we are learning about the importance of connection between people. The era of the Pandemic is exposing our mental health crisis and the need for connection with others. People are drowning. 

People need each other. We need emotional connection. We need engagement. We need encouragement. And yes, we need the overall love, support and service of others. 

Life is too hard to “go it alone” without having a supportive network to help you along the way. 

Have you ever found yourself in a state of need (mentally, emotionally, physically, or financially) and had someone help you through your hardship? Do one of these situations resonate with you? 

• The stress of your job was overwhelming you in all areas of life, but you were able to share your anxiety and frustrations with an understanding friend. 
• You were experiencing relationship struggles that left you at the point of despair, yet someone you know and respect gave you Biblical wisdom and prayed with you so you could find hope in restoring the relationship. 
• You were riddled with worry over the illness of a loved one, only to have a whole community lift your family up in prayer and bring meals to your house. 
• You were unable to make ends meet, but were blessed by the financial support of others.

That encounter probably left you thankful for the person(s) that took the TIME to come to your side for support, encouragement, and aid. 

Yes, people need positive and caring interactions with others. We need to be both the givers and receivers of these kinds of acts of service, but we must be willing to spare the TIME!

Serving: Caring, Giving of Money, & Giving of Time

You see, there is a great battle that is occurring in our society around the value of giving...and it’s not a battle for our money. According to Giving USA, Americans gave a record $471 billion to US charities despite the global pandemic. As a previous educator I can tell you that the federal government gave A LOT of money to schools to help with the learning loss due to the Pandemic. Yes, we and our institutions are more than happy to give our sympathy and money to those in need. So, it’s not the battle of giving  our heart or our "dime” per say like it was during the Great Depression…

It’s the battle for giving our TIME. 

While it is true that the empathetic notion of caring (1) and the financial support of giving  (2) are important to many people and institutions…there is an vital “third leg” to the service stool that is figuratively being sawed off. 

TIME is what is needed to truly serve others, especially those struggling with mental health. And TIME is the one thing we are always short of!

Here at Rocks Before Sand you’ve heard us talk a lot about how awful busy we are as a society! How we rush to and fro from one activity to the next. If we’re not careful, this busyness will cause us to either miss our neighbor in need or have an excuse why we are unable to serve. 

Lack of Time, A Mental Health Crisis, and An Education Crisis - It’s All Connected

I recently read an article at Forbes.com called “Why Education Is About To Reach A Crisis of Epic Proportions,” which explains that 34% of teachers are thinking about leaving the profession due to burnout, tremendous pressures, and…READ THIS SLOWLY…

"The vast majority of teachers truly want to forge that meaningful connection with students. In fact, for many it was the driving force behind their decision to enter the profession. But, understaffed and overworked as they are, many simply have no time to show students that they see, hear, and care about them. Survival mode—where many teachers have lived for the past two years—doesn’t allow much room for relationship building."

Having TIME to build positive relationships matters in mental health and it matters in education. 

We've Always Had a Problem Between TIME and Serving

Yes, our own busyness can get in our way of seeing our neighbor in need, and recognizing how much he/she is struggling. And still yet, a busy mind doesn’t tend to recognize that soft pull on the heart to serve or help a person in need. Instead we literally do not see, pretend we do not see, or we say “I would love to help but I…insert any excuse about TIME constraints here…”.  

As easy as it would be to say “these days, we are so busy,” being too busy to serve others in need is a long standing issue and excuse. 

In Luke, Jesus spoke several times to the Pharisees questioning their judging hearts about whether it was ok to heal others on the Sabbath day or to spend TIME with “sinners.” 

Jesus even rebuked his own disciples who tried to turn children away from him because he was supposedly too busy and important to be bothered by little ones. 

Fast forward to the early 1970s (pre-email, pre-select sports, pre-smart phones, and pre-mental health crisis), one psychological study said that situational factors (e.g. how much TIME we have), play a huge role in how we behave, or why we do or don’t do something.

In 1973, two behavioral scientists, John Darley and Daniel Batson, conducted a psychology study which would become famously known as The Good Samaritan Experiment (Based off The Good Samaritan Parable in Luke 10: 25 - 37)

The Study

In the psychological study of prosocial behavior, students that were enrolled in the Princeton Theological Seminary to become priests (people we would think have a natural bend to always want to help others) were asked to give a short talk about the Good Samaritan parable in the Bible. The participants were then told to walk to a nearby building to give their talk. However, at random, the participants were given one of three conditions about their TIME. Each participant were told that: 

1. They were running late on TIME for their talk and should leave immediately.

2. They would be on TIME if they left now, but had no TIME to spare or they would be late.

or

3. They had plenty of TIME and were early.

As each participant headed toward the appropriate building to give their talk about the Good Samaritan, they all had to pass by a “rigged” situation in a narrow alleyway (about 4 feet wide). Each participant had to pass a “stranger” laying on the ground sick, and in need of help. To not help the stranger meant that the participants had to step over him. 

The Results

While we would think that all of the future priests that already had the concept of the Good Samaritan story on their brain would indeed stop to help a stranger, we would be wrong.  

TIME CONSTRAINTS MATTER! 

As stated in the summary article found in Psychology Today, the results were that: 

• 63% of participants in the “early” condition stopped to help the stranger.
• 45% of participants in the “on-time” condition stopped to help the stranger.
• 10% of participants in the “late” condition stopped to help the stranger.

TIME was the biggest situational factor in determining the human behavior response to whether or not each future priest would stop to help a stranger in need.

Martin Luther King Jr. says it best...

Oh Brother, Can You Spare the TIME

People need positive interactions with other people. People need to know they are loved, valued, seen, and heard. All of this takes TIME. 

People are in need of our TIME!

CALL TO ACTION for the Rocks Before Sand community 

Friends! While you may not be able to control your work or family responsibilities, you are still in control of you. So as you go about your day, I ask that we all move a little slower. Focus on the essential rocks of life…positive relationships and service. Pay attention to those you encounter and serve them by giving them your TIME! 

Be fully present with each soul you encounter. 

Serve others by sparing your precious TIME! 

Know Better. Do Better. Live Better. Serve Others by Sparing Your Time.

Rocks Before Sand!

Here at Rocks Before Sand, service is one of our core values. Here is how we live out the value of service: 

Scripture: 

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

~1 Peter 4:10 NIV

Theme Songs: 

Phil Collins - Another Day in Paradise Lyrics

Matthew West - Do Something Lyrics

Brandon Heath - Give Me Your Eyes Lyrics

Full Playlist About Service

References used:

• Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. June 15, 2021. “Giving USA 2021: In a year of unprecedented events and challenges, charitable giving reached a record $471.44 billion in 2020.” https://philanthropynetwork.org/news/giving-usa-2021-year-unprecedented-events-and-challenges-charitable-giving-reached-record-47144 
• Perna, Mark C. January 2, 2022. “Why Education Is About To Reach a Crisis of Epic Proportions.” Forbes.com. https://www.forbes.com/sites/markcperna/2022/01/04/why-education-is-about-to-reach-a-crisis-of-epic-proportions/?sh=2e90181778c7 
• Geher Ph.D., Glenn. March 16, 2017. My Favorite Psychology Study: The good samaritan is in the situation. Psychology Today.. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/darwins-subterranean-world/201703/my-favorite-psychology-study 
• Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.