Motion Sickness

One of the casualties of our frenetic lifestyle is a loss of a sense of place. The rootlessness of America can be traced to continuing search for the promised land. But this is nothing new. Abraham, too, was called to do a postmodern hop to a new nest, but it was to gain something that really mattered. One of the lessons we need to learn from Abraham is that when we give up our sense of place, it should be for something more important that just getting more money

[Note: Begin by asking for a show of hands of those in the congregation who have moved within the past five years.]

The research says that you will probably move within the next five years. The headlines shout: "Americans Hop to New Nests Every Five Years."

"Americans move to new homes about every five years," said the Akron Beacon Journal (October 29, 1998). "Homeowners tend to stay put longer, averaging 8.2 years, while renters relocate every 2.1 years, [says] a Census Bureau report .... Nationally, the median time people lived at one residence was 5.2 years, meaning half moved sooner than that, and half remained in their nests longer. While the bureau has issued reports previously on how many people move each year - about one in six - the new figures are its first look at how long they stay put."

These statistics tell us what is going on, but they don't tell us why. Why are all these people moving every 5.2 years? What are the underlying reasons? Are people being transferred...