Jesus and the iPhone Zombie

I was with a friend the other day when I began telling her a really important update in my life. I'd finished the "punch-line" and was moving on to the this-is-going-to-change-all-my-future-plans stage when I noticed her eyes had turned to her iPhone. Was she just checking the time? Was she looking at the latest and greatest on Facebook? Had she just gotten an email? How much of her attention did I still hold? 90%? Should I keep talking? Was it worth it for how much she might be hearing? Maybe she was only at 70%. I let my train-of-thought trail off.

I love fireworks - the rush of the crowd, the excitement of the moment, the splendor of fire exploding in the sky! The last time I was at fireworks with friends, my friend was beside me busily snapping pictures. "These are fantastic!" She'd exclaim. I glanced over at her staring up into the sky through her tiny viewfinder that made the sky 1/50th of the live show I was viewing. All for what? Having hundreds of fireworks pictures that would get archived onto a hard-drive and never viewed again? For getting that fantastic, clear shot that she probably wouldn't even upload on facebook for her 800+ friends to enjoy?
Okay so maybe I'm being a bit harsh. There's nothing wrong with taking a few shots! And it's nice to be able to look back on the memories by reminiscing over photos right? But are we spending so much time documenting the memories that we are missing out on the full experience of life in the now - the big, brilliant, terrifying, amazing, thrilling, and sometimes slow (and that should be okay too) now? Or are we looking at it through a viewfinder? Through a tiny iphone screen? Through the statuses of our online friends? Through the latest tweet of a celebrity? Do we even know what we are missing out on? Maybe there isn't a conversation going on between your friends at the moment, so what's the harm in sending a few texts? you think, but do you realize that you are destroying opportunities? If there wasn't a conversation beforehand, there really isn't going to be one now! Oh and I'm not to be excluded. I love technology too. It's awesome that I can communicate easily with friends around the globe. And I don't think there is anything wrong with that. But has it become more quantity and so much less quality? Are we missing out on significant relationships with those right around us because we are only distractedly listening?

So why do we do it? Is it so much easier to escape into the virtual world of communication then do it in real time? I think so. Less expectations perhaps? No fear of running out of things to say or questions to ask in the middle of a conversation and feeling awkward or uncomfortable?

But what are the consequences? A generation of young parents too busy texting or phone web-surfing to see their kid master the monkey bars at the playground? A bus full of high-school kids silently texting their friends who are traveling right next to them? A world where it's easier to share your story or point of view on your facebook status than at the dinner table? Just this week I stumbled across this video on facebook. It's about smartphone overuse and as the video self-titles itself "depressing" - that word totally came to mind! It scares me what this world is coming to.

And yes, real-life conversations - they take effort, especially at first. And they're not going to have as positive an outcome unless you put in your 100% attention.

So think about this. If we are so caught up in technology and the online world that maybe conversations and friendships with people right around us might be suffering, people that we can see and touch, then what about Jesus? Is He not getting my 100% attention span because I got a text during my prayer and proceeded to totally forget I was praying, or any hundred other distractions? So I challenge you, and myself, take a step back and honestly evaluate: is technology distracting you from the One who wants a close relationship with you more than anything? He says "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." Can you hear Him knocking over the din and clamor of your life?