Technology has allowed us to fill our lives with more and more. Social media, for instance, allows us to connect with hundreds of people per day.
One of the dangers of such technology though, is the risk of sacrificing connection with those with whom we are physically present.
Yesterday I went climbing with my wife and during the climb was taking pictures and uploading them to Facebook. Was I giving my wife my full attention? Was I present with her?
This issue becomes especially important on a day like today: Saturday. Most are off work, spending time with family or significant others. Are we bringing our work home?
There is a reason God promises numerous times in the Bible to "be with you" (Ex 3.12; Josh 1.5; Mt 28.20); we are communal beings, in need of connection. But the connection needs to be substantive for it to be healthy.
It might be a good time to ask yourself: am I being present with the people I am physically with? Am I investing in them, listening to them, showing them that they are worth my full attention?
The consequences of not asking these questions may be the degeneration of the relationships that mean the most to us.
4 comments:
That hits right between the eyes man.....ouch.
Very good points Brandon.
The whole social networking thing is making it so easy to communicate with others, it's all about convenience and it is cool. However our "face time" with those we love, even those very close to us, is often reduced to a "Like" on FB. The whole nature of communication is changing and it is a little scary to see our relationships often moving away from honest real time meetings. "I'll just FB ya man"
Young people today are not learning the art of face to face conversation. They text,twitter, and FB each other, never investing in and truly engaging in the emotion and reality of a face to face conversation. They have a short attention span, can't look you in the eye because they are watching their phone for messages, and are generally not in the here and now of a real time face to face meeting.
Thankfully,God is different and doesn't get hung up on the latest social network.
Deut 5:4 The Lord spoke FACE to FACE with you at the mountain, from the middle of the fire.
Here's to more great and meaningful FACE time meetings with both God and those we love in 2011.
Thanks Brandon
Mark
You're welcome. Thanks for your comments Mark!
to me I've known for a while that relationships are the point of life, yet the truth slips away from the reality I create all the time. Being married helps, as if I'm not connected with her nothing is quite right, but still I need near daily alarm clocks to wake me up.
I like the concept of "daily alarm clocks" - I have always appreciated the times in my life when I have been disciplined enough to daily take time to make connections in the most vital relationships.
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