3 Months Without Cell Phones and Social Media

Jake Reilly, a 24-year-old copywriting student made a bold decision.  He suspended his cell phone service, deactivated all social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, Spotify, etc), quit watching TV, and even put up an “out of office” automated message on his two email accounts.  His goal was to see what life would be like to live completely unplugged for three months.

You may be asking, “Why?”  He made this decision when he and his two roommates had their best friends come into town.  These were friends they only saw once a year or so.  All six of them sat down to watch a basketball game.  Jake looked around and noticed every single person had out a laptop or cell phone.  No one was talking to each other or really even watching the game.  One was playing Words With Friends, another Angry Birds, and another was doing online trivia.  Jake observed, “This was what we were all looking forward to, and we’re just sitting here numbing our minds” (Yahoo News).  Reilly then made the decision to go off the grid for the next three months.

He had to walk across the street to the hospital to use the telephone.  He began writing letters with actual paper, ink, and hand cramps.  He began riding his bike around the city.  He would even meet with friends to have actual face-to-face conversations.  He began connecting with people and building lasting relationships and memories.  Doing this even helped Jake reconnect with his long-time girlfriend, a relationship that had become almost nonexistent.  Cutting off electronics for three months changed the way Jake viewed life.  He came to realize that these tools can be great, but we need to be aware of the way we negatively use them and how harmful they can be to our relationship with others and ourselves.

I don’t know about you, but I have often been guilty of pouring my time and energy into the black hole of technology and social media.  I’m not saying all of this is bad.  Many of the social media tools we have are awesome.  In fact, these tools have allowed us to reach and teach people about Christ like never before.  But there must be a limit.  It’s just so easy to get sucked into pointless games, videos, information, etc.  How often do we, after playing Angry Birds for an hour, say, “Wow, that sure was a memorable, enriching, and beneficial experience”?

I think we have to ask ourselves some hard questions.  If we cut down the amount of time we spent using technology and social media…

• How much more productive would we be at work, school, home, etc?
• How much better could our relationship with our parents, spouse, of friends be?
• How much better could our relationship with the Lord be?

Clearly there are some changes that need to be made.  So, what can we do to fix this?  Here are a few challenges for all of us (including myself) to implement.

1. Turn Off All Technology During Family Time.  This means during meals and at restaurants.  This means during family outings, games, hikes, devotionals, etc.  Actually spend time talking about your day and building relationships.  Often I see couples at restaurants (young and old) glued to their phones without saying a single word to each other.  What kind of relationship is that building?
2. Start Giving Full Attention To People.  Put down the phones and computers and give someone your 100%, undivided attention.  One of the largest problems in marriages and relationships is communication.  Half-listening while retreating to our phones, TVs, and computers surely isn’t helping.  What is so important on the phone, TV, or computer that we are sacrificing our relationships for it?
3. Choose a Time to Unplug.  Just get away from it all.  Maybe this is once a month, maybe this is once a week.  It’s hard to realize how addicted we are to technology until we actually step away from it.  We will learn a lot about ourselves, how dependant or addicted we are, and how much time we are wasting.

With so many distractions from technology and social media, it has become so easy to get distracted from our purpose in this life.  Christ said to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” and also to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39).  Is the way we use technology hurting this purpose?  Is the amount of time we spend using technology hurting this purpose (Ephesians 5:15-16)?  If so, I hope and pray we will make the necessary changes.

The Earth

Take a good look at the picture above.  This photo is a scaled down version of the highest resolution image taken of the earth to date (8000 x 8000 pixels).  This image was captured from NASA’s most recently launched Earth-observing satellite, the Suomi NPP.  We have all seen pictures of this beautiful planet we live on, but this one seems so much more colorful and breathtaking.  Every detail is crisp and vibrant.  What a strikingly majestic place we live on.

God spent six days making the universe.  After He made everything, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good…” (Genesis 1:31).  It’s hard to imagine a person looking at this earth and still claiming, “There is no God!”  In fact, God Himself crafted everything in such a way to combat such claims.  Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”  He wants people to see what He made and know that He does exist and He wants something from us.  To put it simply, He wants us to follow and obey Him (Matthew 7:21-27; James 1:22-25).

Our God is awesome!  He chose to make the earth and everything on it “very good.” Since the beauty of the world we live in now is so illustrious, we should be ecstatic when thinking about the place Christ is preparing in heaven (John 14:1-3; Revelation 21-22).  Let’s make sure we always find ourselves walking on that narrow path that leads to that wonderful place (Matthew 7:13-14; John 14:6).

Trying To Dribble With A Football

Today I read the statement, “Life without God is like trying to dribble with a football.”  Have you ever tried to dribble a football?  Most of us would only get a bounce or two in before the ball would bounce off in a different direction.  Dribbling with a football is strange and awkward.  It’s simply not made for dribbling.  A basketball, on the other hand, is the perfect ball for dribbling.  It’s round and even.  It bounces back up into your hand.  It’s relatively easy and effortless to dribble with.  This is what it’s made for.

Everyday people go through their lives without God.  The problem is, these same people are fruitlessly searching for the meaning of life.  They turn to money, possessions, drugs, and sex before soon finding out it wasn’t the answer.  Can life be lived without following God?  Yes.  But that life will be empty, awkward, meaningless, and will result in eternal consequences (Matthew 7:21-23).

Solomon also experimented with all the pleasures life had to offer.  He had houses, vineyards, gardens, and other property.  He had flocks and herds.  He had many wives, concubines, and servants.  Not to mention, he had an absurd amount of gold, silver, and other precious materials.  He was extremely wealthy and prosperous.  But what was his response to all this?  “It’s all vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3).  It’s all pointless.

Everything we have is a moment closer to being destroyed by fire in the end (2 Peter 3:7, 10).  We can’t take any of it with us.  All that matters is our relationship with the Lord.  Life without the Lord is burdensome, hard, and awkward.  It takes terrible bounces without warning and leaves us feeling empty and exhausted.  Life without God is like trying to hammer in a screw.  It’s like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.  It’s like trying to dribble with a football.  On the other hand, life with the Lord feels light and guilt free, it feels natural, and well, it just feels good!  God made us to serve Him.  This is what we were made for!

No one in their right mind wants to participate in pointless activities.  So why continue this life without the Lord?  There is nothing more awkward and unnatural than life without God.  Let’s quit battling in ourselves and resisting Him.  Because in the end, there is no better use of our time and effort, there is nothing more natural, and there is nothing more valuable than following the Lord (Matthew 16:24-26).

Too Close To Danger

The Italian cruise ship, Costa Concordia, was serving dinner to its guests.  The cruise had been going according to plan and everyone was enjoying this enormous luxury ocean liner.  This is when tragedy struck.  The ship began taking in water and turned on its side.  Everyone was now in severe danger.  The next few hours were filled with panic and chaos.  Ever since this disaster occurred a week ago, people have been asking, “How did this happen?”  To put it simply, the captain was sailing too close to the shore.

Time and time again people flirt with the boundaries.  We bend and twist the rules.  We push ourselves and others to the breaking point.  We get in the face of danger to see what happens.  People are constantly putting themselves too close to crisis.  The Costa Concordia is just the latest example.  The captain had no business being so close to shore.  He is currently facing charges on manslaughter, causing a shipwreck by sailing too close to shore, and abandoning ship.

Far too often Christians flirt with sin.  We put ourselves in bad situations and think we won’t be affected.  I don’t know how many times I have heard the words, “Well, ______ doesn’t really affect me.”  We are lying to ourselves.  Maybe it’s when we don’t feel we are being affected by something (bad movies, language, sexual content, lewd music, money, etc) that we are in the most danger.

Ephesians 4:27 says, “Do not give the devil a foothold.”  This is exactly what we are doing when we allow ourselves to get too close to sin.  Let the Costa Concordia serve as a reminder that we really don’t know the dangers that could be hiding beneath the surface just waiting to destroy us.  Let’s stay safe and sound.  The only place this can be found is with the Lord.

Having A “Yes Face”

When Thomas Jefferson was president, he and some friends were traveling across the country on horseback.  They came to a river, flooded by the recent rains.  The fast moving water had taken out the bridge and now each rider was forced to ford across the river on horseback.  All the riders fought for their lives across the strong currents.  Nearby, a traveler apart from their group watched as a couple of the riders made it across the river.  The traveler must not have felt he could walk across with his horse, because he turned to President Jefferson and asked if he would ferry him across the river.  The President jumped right to the task and led the stranger across.  Once safely on dry ground, one of the members of Jefferson’s group asked the stranger, “Why did you select the president to ask this favor of?”  The man was shocked and admitted he didn’t know the president was the one who helped him.  But then the man said, “All I know is that on some of your faces was written the answer ‘No,” and on some of them was the answer ‘Yes.’  His was a ‘Yes’ face” (C. Swindol, The Grace Awakening, Word, 1990, p. 6).

More than ever, the church needs people with “Yes faces.”  These are people who are looking for ways to serve.  These are people who jump at the opportunity to help.  These are people who are characterized by a desire to serve and help others.  Interestingly, this characteristic is a choice, not just a personality trait.  This can be you if you choose so!

Our congregation’s theme this year is “Thinking Souls Through Service.”  If there is to be any success through service in our congregation, or any congregating for that matter, there must be people who are willing and eager to serve.  People who have “Yes Faces.”

• Saying “Yes” to Sacrifice through money, time, energy, food, housing, transportation, etc.
• Saying “Yes” to Encouragement through words, letters, emails, actions, etc.
• Saying “Yes” to Relationships with members, friends, family, strangers, non-Christians, etc.
• Saying “Yes” to Visitation to shut-ins, the elderly, those in the hospital, non-Christians, etc.
• Saying “Yes” to Involvement in workdays, door knocking, service projects, congregational activities, etc.
• Saying “Yes” to Commitment to the church, to work, to service, etc.
• Saying “Yes” to Evangelism.

There is a plethora of ways to get involved in service.  There is no excuse for one not to get involved in service to the Lord.  How will you get involved?  What will you do to serve the Lord?  I hope and pray that when an opportunity comes for you to serve, you will eagerly respond with “Yes!”

Racism: Still Alive and Well

Over the summer, this sign was posted outside an apartment complex swimming pool in Cincinnati.  It reads, “Public Swimming Pool: White Only.”  The reason the landlord posted this sign was because she claimed that a black girl’s hair products would cloud the swimming pool (Yahoo News).  Despite her claim, it is painfully obvious what this woman’s true motives were.

Over the last year or two, more and more examples of racism have popped up.  Some in the news, some on the streets, but saddest of all, some is being seen in the church.  There have been black visitors to white congregations (and vice versa) who receive a “less than friendly” welcome.  There have been interracially married couples who have had trouble finding a job to preach the gospel at a congregation because of race.  There have even been people who claim the Bible forbids interracial marriages.

I grew up in a generation virtually without racism.  I can probably count on one hand the number of lessons I’ve heard on racism and interracial marriage.  This is simply because there hasn’t been as great of a need.  However, with the increasing examples, it’s time to look back and see what Scripture says.

1. Does God Forbid Interracial Marriage?  When we look in Scripture, we see multiple examples of God commanding Israel not to marry people of other nations (Deuteronomy 7:3; Joshua 23:12; Genesis 28:1; Ezra 9:1-4; Ezra 10:2-3).  But the question is, why was God forbidding such marriages?  Some of these same passages give the answer, “You shall not intermarry with them…for they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods…” (Deuteronomy 7:3-4).  The reason God didn’t want interracial marriages was because these bonds would pull them away from the Lord (Exodus 34:15-16; Joshua 23:12-13).  In fact, this is exactly what happened to King Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-4).

Even with this being the case, God did not forbid ALL interracial marriages.  God allowed for people from other races to convert to Judaism (Exodus 12:48-49; Isaiah 56:4-8; etc).  They are still part of a different race, and probably even had a different skin color, and yet once they converted they were allowed to marry into Israel (i.e. Ruth).  Clearly what God really wanted for Israel was for them to marry those who wouldn’t cause them to turn away from the Lord.  He wasn’t so much concerned about the race as much as the idolatry and sin that would result from such a marriage.

In addition, Christians today are no longer to live under the commands of the Old Testament but the New (Hebrews 7:18-22; 8:7-9, 13; 10:9).  In the New Testament we find no Scriptures for or against interracial marriages.  Therefore, there is no reason why a person (especially a Christian) should condemn or discriminate against two interracially married people.

2. Does God Forbid Racism?  Thankfully, this question is much easier to answer.  First of all, racism can get people in trouble with the law.  In the example given above, the landlord for the apartments in Cincinnati is facing several legal consequences.  Christians are to follow the government’s laws as long as they don’t violate Scripture (Romans 13:1-5).  Second, God is not racist.  We know that God shows no partiality or prejudice (Romans 2:11).  We also know that salvation is for all races, all colors, and all people (Romans 10:12; Colossians 3:9ff; Titus 2:11).  Scripture says, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:27-28).  Third, Christians are to treat all people with love and respect.  Christ gave the example of the Good Samaritan not only to break down the race barrier between Jews and Samaritans (John 4:9), but also to show how a Christian should act towards all people of any race (Luke 10:30-37).  See also Matthew 19:19; John 13:34; Galatians 5:4; James 2:8-9.  There isn’t a “thou shall not” in regards to racism, but there are a multitude of principals which condemn such an attitude in us.

It’s quite sad to think that Christians are still dividing over racial issues.  We should have the strongest bonds with each other because of what Christ did for us and the common goals we share.  There is simply no valid reason why a child of God should condemn interracial marriages or engage in racism.

Notice the scene unfolded in Revelation 7:9-10, “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands.”  In heaven, there will be no racism.  All people of all colors and all walks of life will be there.  Whether it is whites against blacks, blacks against whites, or any other color in-between, there is no place for racism in a Christian’s life.  May we always strive to be more Christ-like in this way, as well as all others.

Leaving Stuff On The Car Roof

We’ve all done it.  Despite the warnings, at one time or another we have placed something on top of our cars, forgot about it, and drove away.  This past Sunday, I was walking out of the church building with my daughter in one arm and my notebook and Bible in the other.  Since I can’t juggle very well and I haven’t grown a third arm yet, I had to put something down to reach my keys and get into the car.  So, I set my notebook and Bible down on the trunk, opened up the car, and buckled in my daughter.  As I’m sure you have guessed by this point, I completely forgot about the items sitting on my trunk.  I started the car, made a left turn and drove down the street.  Luckily, my notebook and Bible had stayed on the trunk to this point.  Then I made another left turn onto a major road, and this is when my Bible slid off my trunk and into the gutter.  To make matters worse, it had snowed the day before, and this sunny Sunday made everything a dirty, wet mess.  I didn’t realize what I had done until we got out of the car and my wife asked me why my notebook was sitting on the trunk (somehow it survived the trip).  Oops.  At that point my reality came crashing down.  We backtracked and found my Bible.  It was still in one piece and wasn’t torn up at all, but it was filled with dirt, grime, and was soaking wet.  My Bible was ruined.

It was an honest mistake, but I couldn’t help but think about how I had just destroyed my precious copy of God’s Word.  As I sulked over my silly mistake, I came to realize that people do much worse things with their Bibles every day.  What am I talking about?  2 Timothy 2:15 gives us the answer: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

A person who isn’t “accurately handling” God’s word is a person who isn’t teaching, preaching, defending, and studying the Scriptures.  They are mishandling the precious words God has spoken to us.  They are not evangelizing.  They hide in the corner when God and the Bible are being ridiculed.  They are not concerned about the specific commands God has given in Scripture.  Sometimes all of these apply to such people, but other times only a few do.

It’s bad enough destroying the physical words and pages in the Bible (trust me), but may we never “inaccurately handle the word of truth.”  May we never be guilty of mishandling the information God has trusted us with by not defending the truth, by teaching false doctrine, or by not teaching it at all.

P.S. Oh, and make sure you check your car roof before you drive away as well.

Helping the Enemy

The U.S. and Iran aren’t exactly best friends if you know what I mean.  Lately the tension has really been rising.  Earlier this week an Iranian leader warned America to keep out of the Persian Gulf.  Despite the warnings, the U.S. Navy remained in the area.  As it so happens, our Navy detected Somali pirates and a distress call from an Iranian boat.  The Navy could have left things alone, but they decided to take action against the pirates.  They took over the ship, detained 15 pirates, and rescued 13 Iranian fishermen.  Josh Schminky, a Navy Criminal Investigative Service agent, stated, “When we boarded, we gave them [the Iranian fishermen] food, water, and medical care…They had been through a lot.  We went out of our way to treat the fishing crew with kindness and respect” (Fox News).

These Navy soldiers did a great act of service towards these Iranian people who could have been considered enemies.  This story is a great reminder of Christ’s words in Matthew 5:43-44, “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  This also ties in with parable of the Good Samaritan and loving those who we may not like (Luke 10:25-37).  Clearly Christ’s message is for us to love and respect all people, especially our enemies.

This is always a tough pill to swallow, but a necessary one.  Most people today are quick to hate and slow to love.  God is calling for us as Christians to be different, to stand out.  He is calling us to love and respect when most would not.  Many of us have sung these words many times in worship, “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.  Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

May we live in such a way that people will know from the way we treat others that we are different, that we are Christians.

What Happened in 2011?

It’s amazing how eventful this last year has been.  Every time we turned around, it seems something huge was happening.  Just take a look at some of the events in 2011:

• January 11:  Massive flooding and mudslides in Brazil (killing 903).
• February 11:  Egypt’s leader, Hosni Mubarak, is forced from power.
• March 11:  A 9.1 magnitude earthquake and tsunami hits Japan (killing 15,840), and results in a nuclear crisis.
• April 29:  An estimated 2 billion people watched the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
• April – May:  Huge tornados hit the Southeast and Midwest.
• May 2:  Osama Bin Laden is killed.
• July 21:  NASA’s space shuttle program is ended.
• July 31:  Massive flooding in Thailand, affecting over 12 million people and causing $45 billion dollars in damage.
• August 27: Hurricane Irene hits the east coast.
• September 17: The “Occupy Wall Street” movement begins.
• October 20: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is killed.
• October 31: Global population reaches seven billion.
• December 15: End of the Iraq war.
• December 17: North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong II, dies.

This list only scratches the surface of the events of 2011.  This doesn’t talk about people who died, our bad economy, record high unemployment numbers, or other events that impacted us this last year.  Our world is not the same as it was one year ago.  Chances are, neither are you.  This may have been a terrific year for you, or maybe it was one of the worst.

Only the Lord knows what will happen in 2012.  He knows who will live and who will die. He knows what disasters will occur.  He knows who will be President in 2012.  He even knows what will happen in your life this year.  God knows exactly what this year will be like.  Which is all the more reason to put Him first.

There is no other way to ensure a great 2012 than serving the Lord.  Joshua’s words are just as true then as they are now, “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15).  Chose to serve the Lord, it will be the greatest choice you make all year long.