Connectivity is a big buzz word these days. But do we really mean it? Do we use technology to truly connect with people? Thanks to Chris Smyth, I just listened to an interesting sermon about how technology has, in many cases, not led us to be more connected with each other. This gives me pause. Because in some ways technology, in fact, brings us "together". Right? Well. Maybe. Um. I don't know. Perhaps technology also allows us to keep each other at arm's-length. This is most definitely an area that I will have to keep thinking about.
Similarly, as the world is increasingly fast-paced and increasingly "advanced", we often find ourselves "paying for convenience" because "time is money". The underlying assumption in this is that we have more money than time. But if we think about our spending in terms of helping us to identify what we value (i.e. where your treasure is...), are we saying that we value time? Or are we really saying that we value productivity and time-saving? Are we really using the time that we've freed up to spend with people. Or are we allowing time-savers to propel us ever-forward into some vast abyss of productivity until we crash and burn (either in a total depression, or just in front of the TV to unwind). I certainly recognize this pattern in my life. Anyone else? Any thoughts?
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3 comments:
Thanks for stretching my mind a bit. I appreciate your perspective. I'll be chewing on this for awhile.
The technology thing affects me in that I rely quite heavily on e-mail for my job at the church. I really couldn't handle all parts of my job without e-mail. This leads me to believe that resources such as time and money are saved by utilizing this tool. Thus, I conclude that it is good for God's Kingdom for me to use e-mail.
However, I don't intend for all my church relationships to be e-mail based. They are affirmed and supported by personal contact during the week and on Sundays. And to counteract that impersonal aspect of e-mail, I always try to give a personal comment or encouragement to let the other person know that I'm not a robot on this end :)
I think it's an interesting point, but perhaps a little simplistic. Technology in itself is neutral. What we chose to do with the technology is moral. We can use cell phones/email etc to stay connected with people, or we can use them as distractions. I think about that in regard to the Internet quite often. Without the Internet, the adoption of our 3 girls would have been near-impossible, certainly much lengthier a process. In fact the Internet is useful in matching thousands of children with families and is incredibly useful for adoption agencies and child advocates. It's also an incredibly useful tool for child pornographers and those involved in the slave trade. Same technology, different uses.
I tend to think of technology more in terms of how it can be claimed and used for the Kingdom. What Christians don't use for Christ can be used for other causes (including consumerism and other evils).
With time saving devices, I'm think ing probably the most important question to ask is "what am I using the saved time for?" For instance, we have a dishwasher, which (in theory, when it works right, saves us time). When I chose to use the time to read to my kids, play a family boardgame, sit on the deck with my husband or sit outside and talk with my neighbor, then I think there was a Godly use for the time saved. When I use the time saved to, say, watch tv or surf the web... then that's a different story.
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