I was woken the other night from a deep sleep, not by a noise or a thump in the night, but by a thought. The thoughts continued to come and fill my mind with all the tools that are robbing us. Tools that we look as maybe as good, maybe we use them, but they are to the tools that can take us from community, spending time with others, learning from them, talking to them, sharing with them. These tools we may not realize just what they are doing, but they are removing the need to interact with people from every part of life. These tools are about "I" or "me" instead of tools about "us" and "we". They are stealing the very aspect of communication of community.
I remember when I was growing up, we didn't have any of the tools that we have now, we couldn't go on the internet to buy things, we couldn't look at how our friends were doing by what they posted, we couldn't talk to someone without calling them on the phone or driving over to see them. We actually had to do to have something in return. We couldn't do research, we actually had to go to the library. Do you realize that Google has removed the need to even look into scriptures in the Bible, because we can search out answers on there, we don't even have to do the work it takes to look at the truth the Word of God has, because we just search out what others think, I have fallen victim to this. I need to be searching out the scriptures, just not regurgitating what others are saying, but seek the truth for myself.
We are losing touch with how to talk to people, because it is easier to text them. It is easier than dealing with the actual stress of a phone call. We no longer have to go out into society to deal with people in a store, because we can buy things right online, we don't even have to go to the grocery stores anymore to shop, because we can order it all online. People say that is good, but I am thinking that this actually bad. We shine God's light to people by how we interact with them and if we are no longer interacting with them, how are we shining God's light? Now some of us don't even have to leave our homes to go to work or to college, because everything is done online. We don't even have to leave the comforts of our home to go to church, we can watch it right online, but we are missing so much by doing this. We are no longer worshiping God, we are giving into the distractions of the age. We are no longer giving God what He deserves we are only focused on ourselves, what is good for "me".
God calls us to have community with other believers and that isn't through Facebook or Twitter or any other social media app, it is through face to face conversation, it is through talking to them. Seeing God move in each others lives. Social media hides the truth of what a person is going through, texting hides the truth of what the person is feeling, because anyone can sound happy in a text,. but the truth is you do not know what a person is feeling unless either you are face to face or even voice to voice. And the devil is taking that away from us. How many of our youths can't carry on a conversation face to face anymore, how many are texting instead of talking on the phone. It is sad to see what is happening and we as Christ followers need to stop to look at the truth, before we are sucked into it too.
My disclaimer there are good things that can come from these tools, we can reach more with a message, but remember the person has the choice if they will actually apply it to their life or not. We need to make sure we are using the tools not to destroy our relationship with others, but to build them. We need to do the work it takes to maintain, to grow, to share, to change. Most apps are about "I" we need to make sure they are about God and our witness of His love and truth.
