Technology Lies (click to comment)

Nothing sucks the laughter from our lives like the busyness of life. See if this describes you: “I rise before my cell phone wakes me. Shaving and showering, I listen to stock updates, my pulse racing. In the kitchen, breakfast is two granola bars and enough caffeine to power the Starship Enterprise. But the time is not wasted. I am reading the morning news while updating my blog. The commute is ideal for catching up on the texting I couldn’t do while wasting time with sleep. At work I’m mainlining the Internet and marvelling at the growth of my Inbox. At night I watch baseball while checking player stats and e-mails from friends who wonder why I’m not returning their text messages about driving their kids to soccer practice.” If there’s life on other planets and they have telescopes, we must look like we’re in a giant pinball game.

Don’t get me wrong, technology can be a blessing. But what I’d like more than anything is to lie down for a full hour without a cell phone going off. If I had the time, I’d sit down and write a letter: “Dear Guys Who Come Up With More Stuff: Please stop. We have enough RAM in our computers and enough room in our trunks. Would you work on an invention that slows us down? That brings families together? That cures diseases? I’m still trying to figure out my e-mail.”

The enemy of our souls wants us to live in a noisy state of distraction from things that give us meaning and purpose. But Jesus says, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” That’s Matthew 11:28-30 in the Message.

Hey, let’s walk humbly with God today. We can start by leaving the cell phone at least 50 feet from the dinner table. For thousands of years people had no cell phones. We’ll be fine without one for 30 minutes. Let’s pry our fingers off the keyboard and get some exercise. It won’t kill us.  But you’ll have to excuse me. I’m gonna put a cassette tape in the VCR and see what happens.