Sludge
While on a walk the other day, I learned of a concept in economics that fascinated me. It also gives a name to something that has plagued almost all of us.
The concept is called “sludge.” The purpose of sludge is to put so many obstacles in front of the consumer that they will surely lose patience and fail to return a product or cancel a subscription.
The example given in the podcast as I walked the other day was the steps to cancel a gym membership. Many of you may have experienced sludge when trying to cancel a gym membership. Obviously, to sign up for a gym membership, you can do this online, it’s quick and easy…they will even take your deposit online!
But to quit? That is harder. You must come in. And then you must wait for the right person to help you. Then you’re forced to face the guilt and shame of being a quitter, the sales pitch for all the services you will lose if you quit, and finally, the mountain of paperwork. That is in the best of times. Sludgy, isn’t it?
The particular example given in the podcast though took sludge to the next level. To quit this particular gym in New York, you had to come to the gym, which is understandable. Except this gym didn’t change policy during the Covid-19 pandemic when you couldn’t go to the gym at all. Not to work out, not to visit your favorite trainer (they weren’t there either). You couldn’t go because nobody was there. But to quit… you had to go to the gym…even if you couldn’t go to the gym.
Sludge.
Just the other day, I tried to unsubscribe from a mailing list I’m somehow still on from a company in Southern Minnesota where I used to live. I couldn’t believe the number of boxes to check, windows to close, and hassle just to stop getting the once a week email.
Sludge…imposed obstacles.
Usually, sludge is something put in front of us. That’s how it works in economics. But I wonder how much sludge we put in our own way in many facets of life.
Staying away from church until life is a bit calmer is a classic example of self-inflicted sludge. Calling an old friend that you miss can be kicked down the road because they have a lot going on right now is another example of self-inflicted sludge. Putting off the medical appointment or the therapist because you are scared of what you might learn…sludge. Preventable, if even understandable, sludge.
I can’t speak to any sludge you may have when it comes to your mental or physical health, but I can offer a word of encouragement to you about the sludge you may have to struggle through when it comes to your spiritual health or your relationship health.
As summer marches on, as patterns of life may shift a bit, don’t let the sludge bog you down. Take care of your prayer life…set that alarm (if you need to) with a reminder to thank God for the day that was. Take care of your worship life…if Sunday morning is too busy or you’d rather sleep in, come on Saturday; just come to hear the word of God for your life and receive Communion.
Call your friends that you miss just because.
It may remain difficult to quit the gym, unsubscribe from an email list, cancel cable, and a whole host of other things…but it isn’t hard to give a little bit of time to the things in life that are truly important: God and your relationships. Sludge is everywhere, but there is no sludge so thick that it should keep you from experiencing grace.
