CCQ#138: Do you
think technology helps or hinders our spiritual lives?
Below is little excerpt written by Peggy Kendall that I thought
was spot on for me. I hope you find it meaningful too.
"Most of us know how important things such as quiet times are to spiritual
growth, but sometimes quiet times can be anything but quiet. Take my prayer time
this morning, for instance. I began by logging into BibleGateway.com. As I scrolled down through Psalm 23, which was my passage for today, I noticed the ad offering to
link me to the site's new online bookstore. I had to take a quick look and see
what special offers they had. In between "The Lord is my shepherd"
and "He makes me lie down beside still waters," two e-mail
notifications popped up. One message seemed urgent, so I just had to respond
before I forgot. Then my cell phone vibrated. I had to see who it was to make
sure I wasn't missing something important. By the time I got down to "He
restores my soul," I'll be honest, I wasn't feeling very restored.
I find that as I strive for meaningful spiritual growth, my
technology-saturated lifestyle sometimes seems to get in the way of what it
really takes to experience a deep, focused and purposeful Christian life. When
we live in a culture where being productive and doing lots of things at once
are so highly valued, there are certain spiritual disciplines such as solitude,
meditation, fasting, even keeping the Sabbath that can feel a little out of
step. We need to recognize that as our technology speeds up our lives and
reshapes the value we put on things such as efficiency and productivity, these
spiritual disciplines are more important than ever.
Let's face it, whether texts, posts, ads, tweets, e-mails,
links, updates, chats or iTunes, our technology has a way of
cluttering up our lives and slowly sucking the purpose and focus from our days.
What we—and our kids—desperately need now more than ever, is sacred time and
space. But how can we reclaim it from the dominance of our technology and our
Attention Deficit Disorder culture?
If we truly want to slow down and reconnect, it usually takes a
little peace and quiet; but really, when is the last time you actually heard
silence in your house that wasn't accompanied by snoring? For me it was the
last time the electricity went out. I was in the middle of watching the news
and off it went. I looked at my dog and back at the dark TV screen. I felt a
little lost, something akin to loneliness. Everything was so, well, quiet.
Honestly, silence takes a little getting used to. It dawned on me that night
that I don't perceive silence as being golden. I perceive it as being awkward
and boring. The usual stimuli I have bombarding my every waking
moment have created a deep restlessness in me when it is all turned
off.
Silence, however, can be an especially powerful gift. Take for
instance the way silence gives us space to think. Could anyone argue the fact
that more time to think leads to better decision making? As we speed through
life, we tend to emphasize "fast answers over good answers...unable to see
the larger array of options before us." However, when we spend
intentional time unwired and logged off, we thoughtfully and prayerfully can
consider the opportunities God has laid before us. Jesus consistently
spent quiet time alone, preparing for the major events in His life. Perhaps His
example is an invitation to us to reclaim this endangered spiritual discipline."
Send your "Crazy Catholic Questions" Lisa Brown at
dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at: http://crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment