Psychologist Walter Mischel published a book this past year called the Marshmallow test. It’s based on 50 years of research involving a simple but intriguing proposition. Mischel tested the ability of preschool children to resist immediate gratification with the use of that insidious device of torture known as, the marshmallow.
The preschool children were offered one marshmallow that they could eat right away, or two marshmallows if they waited 20 minutes. So the children sat and stared at a single marshmallow, and the researchers watched to see how long the preschoolers held out.
The original goal of the Marshmallow test was to study how long children delayed gratification and what methods they used to do so. As the study continued over 4 decades, the results of the marshmallow test began to show much more. Surprisingly, it predicted quite a lot about the success and happiness of these preschoolers later in life.
Those who displayed skills in the ability to delay gratification ended up with better grades, higher test scores, longer lasting relationships, and a higher quality of life.
The message of the study is clear, delaying gratification pays off.
But our society isn’t listening.
Our lives are mostly about one thing:
Instant gratification.
We have created Instant Coffee, Instant tea, instant milk, instant mashed potatoes, instant oatmeal, instant ramen noodles, instant cash, instant messaging, instagram, instant streaming, instant savings, instant rebates, instant replay, instant approval, there’s even a website called instantkittens.com where you can watch short videos of kittens and then click on the screen to see a new group of kittens instantly.
We’ve created a world in which everything is instant, and nobody is happy.
The problem with instant gratification is that it doesn’t gratify, and it doesn’t satisfy. And then we have to seek it again, and again. It’s not gratifying, it’s just distracting. Distracting us from what we should be doing. Distracting us from the real goal, and the only reward that will ever truly gratify. Heaven.
God has an unbelievable reward for us in Heaven. It is beyond anything we’ve ever known. He is waiting there for us alongside our loved ones who have gone before us. It’s not instant gratification, it’s permanent joy. Life is pretty is hard for everyone, that’s why God has such a great reward at the end.
When you feel pain, see Heaven. When you mourn, see eternal life. When you cry, envision The God of the universe wiping your tears away.
“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven…” (Matthew 5:12 NIV)
Dave Brown
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