It’s such an
insidious truth: You don’t know what you’re missing, if you never had it in the
first place. I’ve experienced this truism a few times in my life, but my most
recent example prompted this rant.
As we are
called to be in the world, but not of the world, I always take pride (not
that kind) in being out of step with the general public (P.T. Barnum might have
referred to them as suckers). Specifically, I enjoyed holding on to our flip phones
and land line long after most were using smart phones. My faith aside, I’ve
never been comfortable with Madison Avenue dictating my wants/needs.
But alas, I
came over to the dark side. It was a slow, almost imperceptible slide down the
abyss. We went from two flip phones and a land line, to two flips and a smart
phone, to one flip and 2 smarts. Of course our latest smart phone is much more
advanced than the initial one (an iPhone 4 and iPhone SE); however, even our
newest one is laughably ancient in this realm.
Why do I
say, “…the dark side”? Because it is as easy as falling off a log to get hooked
on these things (reference the documentary, Captivated:
finding freedom in a media captive culture). I mean, nobody ever got hooked
on their table top or wall mount land line back in the day (teenage girls
talking for hours on their princess phones to their friends are not the same). People didn’t rant and
rave about their latest phone; a phone was a phone. It did one thing, did it
well, and was a tool to assist one, not an appendage that one could not live
without. Heck, people relished time away from the distractions of the phone,
but nowadays you would have to sedate many if you suggested they venture forth
without their cell. When we had flip phones, I had a little sympathy for this
mentality, as even those prehistoric things grow on you. But with a smart phone
(I get it, many would consider a SE not so smart; be kind) I feel empathy, as I
know their pain. It’s hard to imagine
walking around without immediate access to texts, news, music, videos, and
anyone who may want to talk to you. Not to mention timers, calendars, and all
manner of apps. Of course the 500 (or 800) pound gorilla in the room is the
ubiquitous camera. Between Madison Ave and habit (I prefer conditioning) so
many have let these ancillary items become as essential as going to church
(what am I saying? Bad example. How about as essential as caffeineJ).
What has
happened to us? We are avid watchers of Little
House on the Prairie, and everyone seemed pretty darn happy (Mrs. Oleson excepted)
without all this stuff. I don’t think Charles would have been able to do
everything he did from making wagon wheels, playing fiddle, working at the
lumberyard, talking the pastor into staying, discovering penicillin (oh wait, that’s
one thing he didn’t do), and an infinite number of other accomplishments, if he
had a smart phone and wiled away the hours on his ESPN app or trying to
configure his Spotify.
We have
become slaves to technology in general, and to our phones (truly personal
electronic devices is a better description) more specifically. If we are
slaves, what does that make our phones? And we know from the Bible that one
cannot serve two masters. I have been guilty, but I aim to change the dynamic.
I’m trying to read a John MacArthur book in addition to reading my Bible every
day and publishing a post on a semi-regular basis. In addition, I’m working
full-time, being a father and husband full-time, and exercising so I can stay
healthy full-time.
For me
(maybe I’m just not too bright) I can’t have many distractions if I am to
devote enough time to God’s Word. This means more than just reading the words
and checking it off for the day. Again (maybe I’m just not that bright) but I
often need to delve into commentaries and enjoy reading books by godly men to
assist with my spiritual growth. All of this suffers if I get side-tracked by
streaming endless (often silly) videos, texting just for the sake of texting
and attaching silly pics/gifs, or just surfing the web. All of these are fine
if you can control them, but many don’t seem to be capable.
“Guns don’t kill people, people do” is a cute
little colloquialism, but it’s a distinction without a difference, as you need
both people and guns to result in someone being killed. Remove one; problem
solved. However, practically speaking, neither people nor guns are going away
(well, you know fellow Christian, at least until God pulls the plug on the
whole deal) so we need to control both. Nor are people or phones going away, so
we need to control both. I am a gun owner and have that well under control; I
intend to do the same with my phone as it may be argued that it could be at
least as dangerous.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom… –
Proverbs 9:10
