Are We Too Connected?

Are We Too Connected?
This blog entry did not go to the email list. It was too good to miss. So I am sending it again today.
"Be still and know that I am God ..." -- Psalm 46:10

Question ... and can we agree that my question is not a judgment but one to help bring some perspective to our lives?

How much time did you spend today in Bible reading/study/meditation and in prayer?
What was the first thing that you did when you woke up this morning?
Did you turn on your radio? Turn on your computer? Or was the first thing you did today was to grab a cup of coffee and your Bible to engage with the Lord?

How much time did you spend with the Lord? 3o minutes? 25 minutes? 15? 10?
How much time did you spend in answering email today?
How much time did you spend texting?
How much time did you spend searching the Internet?
How much time did you spend on Facebook?
How much time did you spend playing cards on the computer?

Our world has become very connected to everything but our relationship, our personal relationship with the Lord. We are living in some of the greatest times technologically, but will technology enable us to spend more time with God or with technology?

My cell phone is ready for an upgrade. I have been trying to decide if I should take the leap into a more sophisticated device. Right now I can text and I can take pictures. My techie friends all have phones that now connect them to the Internet and access email. I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't tempted. But my family and the Holy Spirit (not Jan ... but close ...) challenged me to think through that fact that I don't need one more device that is going to get me more connected.

I need to find ways to disconnect and unwind so that I can enjoy life and my family. But I also need to find ways to be able to be alone with God, and to get still enough that I can hear Him whisper rather than have to shout at me over the technology. Don't get me wrong, technology is wonderful. Think of all the things we can do not with speed and precision. But is technology interfering with my relationship with God?

If I've spent more of my leisure time connected to technology and given God the left overs of 5, 10 or 15 minutes because I am "too busy" -- is there something wrong with that picture? Making a daily commitment is not easy. As soon as I hit the ground, my mind is in a flurry of activity. I find myself at times rushing through my quiet time so that I can get to the office to handle work before everyone else gets in or I try to see how many other things I can read beside the Bible to fulfill my quiet time.

Lately, I have found myself stopping and saying -- DON'T RUSH! Don't look at the computer first. Don't send one single email until I sit and spend time with my heavenly Father. I have been working through an old practice of just reading the Word and then journaling what He is teaching me. I ask the Holy Spirit to give me one verse from my Bible reading. I write that verse in my journal and make some observations. I then write out how I believe God wants me to apply that verse to my life. At the end of the exercise, I write out a prayer, asking God to build that principle in my life.

Is this an easy practice? NO! But I believe it is necessary. It seems easier to get on Facebook or answer email. But I want to work at having connectedness not as important to technology as to my heavenly Father. How about you? Is it just me? Am I the only one? -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 25; Numbers 9-11; Mark 5:1-20

Great Quote: Life is war. That's not all it is. But it is always that. Our weakness in prayer is owing largely to our neglect of this truth. Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief. It is not surprising that prayer malfunctions when we try to make it a domestic intercom to call upstairs for more comforts in the den.(continued tomorrow) John Piper