Good Screen Time!
How many times recently have you heard someone disparage technology? Parents, schools, and employers regularly monitor the use of cell phones. Even our smartphones are programmed to calculate daily screen time and post the results on our home pages. The government is also concerned that certain platforms are being used to steal personal identities or track citizen movement. Some of this caution is justified because there are innumerable “bad actors” out there who are engaged in nefarious activities and disruptions. Daily, we read or hear about security breaches!
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Cybersecurity
is one of the fastest growing industries today. A recent study revealed that
there are 3.4 million cybersecurity jobs in the workforce. The number of college
bachelor students seeking a degree in cyber engineering doubled from 3500 to
over 7000 between 2018 and 2022! It is understandable that we should exercise
some vigilance in the use of technology and avoid bad screen time.
The other
side of this caution is that the same technology that can be problematic, on
the one hand, can also be a useful means of keeping us connected with family
and friends. Just this week, I assisted an anxious senior adult as she used the
“What’s App.” She was trying to make a video call to her daughter who was vacationing out of
the country. Monique often uses that same app to communicate with her sister who
lives abroad. And we regularly use cellphone technology like FaceTime for video
calls and texting to keep up with many who are living near and far.
Again, this
week, we used such technology to sing happy birthday to our seventeen-year-old granddaughter
and to encourage our grandson who is leaving for college all in the same night.
In both instances, these were video calls! We were also able to use another app
on those same phones to immediately transfer some cash to three of our older
grands. All of this was possible because of advanced cellphone capabilities. Fifty
years ago, Monique’s mother would have given anything to be able to make a free
video call from Illinois to her beloved sister in France!
Jesus
lived in a day and time when a face-to-face meeting took considerable effort. People
walked miles to gather in the same place with friends and loved ones. Today,
one tap on the phone instantly puts us in
face-to-face contact with our people. In short, we are spoiled and take
such a connection with others for granted! Remember from Bible accounts how
Jesus was often hard to locate at times? Imagine how the disciples could have
kept up with Him using the “Find My” app in that day? 😊
In His
last gathering with the disciples before the Cross, Jesus called His closest
friends to a loving connection. “Let me give you a new command: Love one
another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another.” Jesus’ expectation
of this connection is clear in the phrase, “In the same way I loved you.”
The impact and expansiveness of this connection are underscored by what Jesus predicted.
He said that when we are together and connected in Him, “This is how everyone
will recognize that you are my disciples – when they see the love you have for
each other.” (John 13:34-35, The Message).
Connectedness
is a witness to Christ’s work in and through us to the world. With the
excellent tools and advantages of technology at our disposal, we cannot make
excuses for failing to keep up and deepen our relationships with each other!
Let’s
invest in some good screen time that brings us together, and draws others to
the love of Christ!
Read more: Intentional Connection
Mike Keppler, retired pastor,
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Don’t
ReplyDeleteKnow what we would do without our phones, so much better than writing letters every day.