Technological Clutter

 As I sit at my desk I am surrounded by technology.  I sit before a laptop computer with a second screen (I can type my posts on one screen while I have the Bible open on E-Sword on the other – love it!).  My printer sits to my right.  My cell phone is on the desk as well as a land line.  Not far from me is the headset for Skype, my iPod, and a small recorder that I rarely use.  There seem to be wires everywhere.  

But I am not really a techie.  We have no cable so we can’t watch TV.  There are no video games in our house though I guess we could access them online if we wanted to.  We don’t have iPhones or Smart Phones – though the more I see of them the more tempted I am.  If there’s more, I don’t know that I don’t have it! 

What I am coming to realize is how much of a distraction this stuff is in my life.  Colossians 3 is one of my favorite passages to teach.  It starts by warning us that if we are in Christ we should be keeping our minds on the things above.  The verses say it this way: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”  Technological clutter is not conducive to a mind set on things above. 

As I go through the average day it can be very difficult for me to think about the things of the Lord when I am checking email and going to Facebook to see what new and exciting thing has been put up there since I checked earlier in the day!  I infuriate myself – several times a day!  Today was interesting because so many people were talking about the earthquake and with no TV the internet is my source of information.  I had a reason to check things today! 

But even with today’s earthquake, I knew it had happened because I was out and other people were talking about it.  I had been in my car so I didn’t feel it.  After a mail carrier asked me if I had felt it and described it, I was sure it was serious.  As I travelled to my next errand, I wondered what God was doing.  I asked Him just that and how I should respond.  When I got home and into the distractions of the comments on Facebook and reading the secular news – I sort of lost track of the “God factor.”  Certainly in an earthquake we should recognize the power and presence of God! 

Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”  The first “You” is speaking of God.  He will give us peace when we are keeping our minds on Him.  This is because when our minds are on Him we will honor Him, obey Him, and will want to be righteous and just in our dealings with others.  

My fear for all of us today (there really doesn’t seem to be a demographic that is immune) is that the technology that surrounds us takes our minds off the things above and gives us almost constant reminders of worldly things, evil things, and things that might seem good but have no lasting value.  There is no harm in talking on Facebook about the earthquake or birthdays or posting the new pictures of the babies in the family.  However, if these things keep us from looking to the Power behind the earthquake, the Giver of life, and the One who says that babies are a blessing from Him, then we are in the world and of the world. 

Technology is wonderful.  It is helpful.  It keeps us connected to the rest of the world in ways we have never known before.  It makes our work much easier and tools more accessible.  But, like so many other good things in this world, too much can be too much!  When our technology becomes more important than our God – we have created an idol.  

Many believe we haven’t gone that far.  They say it is not more important than God.  However, I see it becoming more important than other people and then God is only a step away.  As we accumulate “technological clutter” it seems that face-to-face contact with people shrinks in actual time spent and in its importance to us.  It scares me to read that our teens most popular way of breaking off a relationship is on Facebook and that if anyone under 25 is seen on a phone – their peers know they are talking to their parents.  If it was anyone else they would text them. 

If we think about the attributes of Christ it is hard for me to fathom how becoming more technologically cluttered can make us more like Him.  He was compassionate, He met with, ate with, and conversed with those who were considered the outcasts of His day.  He loved people in action, healing them, and serving them as they had need.  If we are tethered to our desks or our phones how will we minister to those who need to know Him?  

I have heard the argument that we can put up posts on Facebook and use the internet (I do on this blog) to connect with those who need more of Jesus.  My challenge to each one is to examine the face time we do have with others.  Are we looking at them or checking the iPhone in our pockets?  Are we willing and able to sit and listen to a broken heart or can we not move away from the video games? 

My own technological clutter keeps me from ministry – even making a phone call can get put off for hours  or days – there’s just too much to read online.  It can also keep my mind off the things above.  David worked at pleasing God in difficult times so in Psalm 26.  He wanted to know that his integrity was evident to God.  He prayed, “Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind.”  As we sit before our technological clutter would we dare to pray the same prayer?