8 Days Until Christmas
Over the past several days I've been scared to death by other drivers driving while talking or texting on their phones.
The man behind me in the grocery line yesterday informed someone very loudly through his hands-free device that he was waiting patiently at the grocery store. Then he changed lines so he could get done faster.
The woman in front of me at a different check out lane in another store was so consumed with her phone call that she didn't even hang up to interact with the clerk.
Technology is the quickest joy-destroyer there is. Yes, I use it daily and appreciate that I can communicate, work and entertain myself with it. It is a blessing in many ways, but in addition to connecting us with the world it is alienating us from the world around us.
This Advent season is a time to draw closer to one another and to the Lord. How can we do that with a computer in our lap? Can you really have quality time with family when the cell phone vibrates every other minute? Is it quality Bible reading time if the television is on, too?
On a scale of 1 to 10, how much have you enjoyed the Christmas season thus far? Do you remember what you've done over the past couple of weeks? Do you have to check your social media postings or your phone call record to jog your memory? If so, an unplugging is in order!
* Put down your phone, and maybe even turn it off for an evening.
* Turn off the television and take the family on a tour of Christmas lights.
* Build a fire in the fireplace and read the Christmas story from the Bible.
* Designate two times a day for checking e-mail, not every five minutes.
* Resist the urge to update your online status every time you breathe.
Technology has its place, but Christmas is the exception to our dependency. We will never meet this way again, and each moment should be precious and treasured. A year from now there will be different people in our lives and some loved ones may not be with us. This precise second in time cannot be duplicated or reproduced - and it will be missed if our eyes are blinded by things you can plug in.
I pray we will all spend the next 8 days focused on actual flesh-and-blood people and set aside finding out everything that's going on out in the world. Connecting with loved ones is the special part of the Christmas season, but let's do it in a more personal way. Unplugged.
The man behind me in the grocery line yesterday informed someone very loudly through his hands-free device that he was waiting patiently at the grocery store. Then he changed lines so he could get done faster.
The woman in front of me at a different check out lane in another store was so consumed with her phone call that she didn't even hang up to interact with the clerk.
Technology is the quickest joy-destroyer there is. Yes, I use it daily and appreciate that I can communicate, work and entertain myself with it. It is a blessing in many ways, but in addition to connecting us with the world it is alienating us from the world around us.
This Advent season is a time to draw closer to one another and to the Lord. How can we do that with a computer in our lap? Can you really have quality time with family when the cell phone vibrates every other minute? Is it quality Bible reading time if the television is on, too?
On a scale of 1 to 10, how much have you enjoyed the Christmas season thus far? Do you remember what you've done over the past couple of weeks? Do you have to check your social media postings or your phone call record to jog your memory? If so, an unplugging is in order!
* Put down your phone, and maybe even turn it off for an evening.
* Turn off the television and take the family on a tour of Christmas lights.
* Build a fire in the fireplace and read the Christmas story from the Bible.
* Designate two times a day for checking e-mail, not every five minutes.
* Resist the urge to update your online status every time you breathe.
Technology has its place, but Christmas is the exception to our dependency. We will never meet this way again, and each moment should be precious and treasured. A year from now there will be different people in our lives and some loved ones may not be with us. This precise second in time cannot be duplicated or reproduced - and it will be missed if our eyes are blinded by things you can plug in.
I pray we will all spend the next 8 days focused on actual flesh-and-blood people and set aside finding out everything that's going on out in the world. Connecting with loved ones is the special part of the Christmas season, but let's do it in a more personal way. Unplugged.
Amen!! I feel the same about these issues.
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Gwenny
And today it was a cashier on the phone...sigh. Just something to pay attention to personally. I would hate to be attached to technology all this week!
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