Sci-Fi, Wi-Fi, and I

    
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."  John 14:27
     Some days I feel like I am living out an old science fiction novel. Perhaps it is because I can remember when telephone calls were made on "company equipment" manufactured by Ma Bell, dialed with a rotating wheel, and made a very satisfying jangling sound if you hung up with a touch of force. Or maybe it is the fact that, if I chose, I could dial up a friend from where I sit and have a conference call complete with video. Or if I were willing to fork over some more cash (and I am among a minority in my country who has not yet done so) I could have a miniature electronic brain that serves many functions including, but not limited to:

• a calendar that will audibly prompt me to do any number of things I add to it
• a handheld computer for sending and receiving email and text messages
• an Internet browser through which I can look up web pages, check the weather, or find directions
• a Global Positioning System (GPS)
• voice recognition capability that enables me to do all of the above without typing,
• a video gaming system to pass the time
• a camera and video recorder
• a cell phone complete with video conferencing. 

It could be any of a myriad other items which have either escaped my thoughts today or become so commonplace that I have forgotten what life was like without them.
     With all this technology literally at our fingertips coupled with the popularity of social networking sites, it seems that we would see an increase in social consciousness and politeness. I fear, however, that the opposite is true. While we are now able to text, call, and email anyone at any moment, it seems that the art of good, old-fashioned conversation is rapidly being lost (to say nothing of grammar and punctuation--yikes!). I see people on the phone either talking or texting everywhere I go, yet many of them seem to have lost the awareness of the people right in their path. Where it was once considered rude to answer your telephone while visiting with others, it is now perfectly acceptable to talk, text, and chat with many people at once--a bit of oneself everywhere yet never giving full attention anywhere.
     On a side note: with a bit of nostalgia I recall a time when, as a waitress in my 20s, a group of four people walked to their table single-file, each one on their cell phone. At the time, this was not commonplace and the entire, packed restaurant erupted in unsuccessfully suppressed snickers. I must admit that I still do enjoy a private moment of mirth when I see two or three people sitting across a table from one another, bent over their phones and silent except for the light tapping of their fingers on the touchscreen.
     I wonder... is all this high-speed communication healthy? Is it good for us to not only keep up with the Joneses, but also the Smiths, the Woods, the Johnsons, the McShelleys, and all their friends and relatives, too? Do we need such shallow but wide-spread roots, or would it be a better investment of time to cultivate our relationship with the Lord and Him alone? I think that, if we were profoundly rooted in Him, all the other relationships in our lives would flow out as naturally as water from a spring. We would not have the bustle and worry, the multitude of concerns pressing on our minds, the scramble to get back with everyone at once in such a way that dozens are touched by us but none too deeply. After all, did Christ not say His burden was light? And He was a Man literally pressed on all sides by people scrabbling for His attention. Yet His focus never wavered, His intent never faltered. From all accounts that I have read, He was very much present in the moment with each person He encountered, not frazzled and trying to answer them all at once. He was deeply rooted in the Father, and from that vital font gushed all the energy, peace, and presence of mind He needed just to be as He was--in the perfect balance of self-control that only comes from absolute, flawless surrender to the will of God.

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:4-5

Oh, dear friends, now that the school year is back in full-swing, I am faced with the undeniable certainty of these words. . .  Lord, please help me never to even attempt anything without You.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.