More and more, I’m feeling a desire to step away from modern comforts and technology.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t expect to give up air conditioning anytime soon. But the more I’m on my phone, scrolling social media, the more I feel my heart withering.
I miss the simple pleasures of my youth: watching the wind in the trees, listening to the rain on the roof, breathing in that earthy smell after a long downpour, and enjoying the puddles left behind.
Have you ever taken a moment to appreciate water? When it’s clean and pure, it’s clear as glass. God could have made water opaque, like milk, but He made it transparent. Why?
I hazard to guess it’s because water is more beautiful that way. And how awesome is it that we have a God with such intricate attention to detail that He made our most precious resource, the very thing that sustains us, beautiful as well? He didn’t have to. I think He did it to delight Himself, and also to delight us.
We are so enamored by our phones. Well, most of us are. Smartphones are impressive technology, to be fair—technology that can only exist because of God’s measurable and reliable natural laws. But are they beautiful? Are the apps and social media feeds nourishing to our bodies, minds, and souls? Increasingly, I believe often they are not. Worse, they sometimes take more than they give.
I’m not abandoning my phone or my social media. When used responsibly, they can foster connection. I have friends from all over the world because of Facebook. But I have to find a better balance.
Should I set times each day to check social media? Should I set time limits? Should I avoid certain apps altogether?
I’m considering all of the above.
Tomorrow morning, I’ll start by not picking up my phone before I get out of bed. Then, I’ll go as long as possible without using it at all.
Sadly, I’m sure this will cause me discomfort and anxiety. How much, I’m not sure. But it will be an interesting experiment—and I’ll take you along for the ride.
Stay tuned.
On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John 7:37-38 NIV
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Image by congerdesign from Pixabay