“I made the decision just yesterday.”
“Oh? With much thought?”
He looked at me for a moment:
“No. I simply awoke; began the day; and then thought I should.”
“And the result?”
“Well, I’m already feeling far more relaxed and peaceful—and not nearly so distracted.”
Smiling I asked:
“And how long will you experiment?”
“Oh, at least for the week,” he said, his eyes gleaming. “I’ve turned it all off: Facebook, Messenger, all the alerts … and I put my phone in a drawer.
“Really?” I said, feeling my eyes grow wide.
“And ya know,” he continued, “I’ve already determined that mine is a good life; whereas, daily when I follow the various posts, I’m left feeling as though I’m missing out … and that the people of my world aren’t happy … like those of my Facebook friends.”
This dialogue reflects the exchange a good friend and I had last week; but in sharing this reflection, my intent is not to denigrate the many good benefits of the technology and the many internet devices, apps, and aids with which we are familiar. Rather, it is a simple reminder: what we hear and see do greatly impact or shape us, particularly at day’s dawning.
When first the internet world and its devices began to impact our teens, I recall hearing the many voices bemoaning the perceived, emerging, addictive behaviors; but now it appears that those of us who are adult are not far behind our children. We too have addictive behaviors, although we call them necessary “habits” or “routines:” a matter of survival in our information-crazed world. We might miss something … (like quiet?).
Dietrich Bonhoeffer once noted: “The Scriptures … tell us that the first thought and the first word of the day belong to God … [The] beginning of the day should not be burdened and oppressed with the besetting concerns for the day’s work.”[1] By these words, and admittedly they are difficult to follow, he recognized that the first voice of the day, that first voice of importance and priority, will greatly direct what we see, hear, and how we live each new day. Will it be the WSJ? a parable of Jesus? the BBC? The Weather Channel? or the One who spoke light into being? However these voices and views arrive, the fundamental question is this: Will they call us into a world of despair and hostility, or into a world of delight and hope?
Choosing the Voice, who promised abundant life,
Stan
[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1954), pp. 42-43.