After being one of the (over) 39 million people to watch the artistically crafted, beautifully convicting spoken word “Look Up”, I sat there staring at my phone speechless. I began reflecting on the many times that I have been too busy staring down at my phone, or “fake talking/texting” so that I could avoid awkward eye contact with someone that I didn’t particularly want to talk to (c’mon, you know you do it…if not, then I guess I’m a weirdo). Tonight as I was rolling silverware at work, one of my co-workers pointed to table 54 in front of me and whispered “look at those kids”. It was a family of 6 out to dinner for the mom’s birthday. The 4 kids were all nose deep into their phones the entire dinner—even when they were eating. There was no eye contact, no talking, no laughing.
There is no doubt that God designed human beings for interaction and relationship. Even the most independent people desire some sort of companionship; it is the way we are created. I wonder if God had a different idea of what human interaction would look like. When thinking back to the beginning of time I don’t recall God looking at all He created and saying “Oh shoot, I forgot Instagram and Facebook—this will not do”. No, he looked at two people, the birds in the air, the beautiful vegetation and said “It is good.” Now, I can admit that I fail at this daily. It seems way too natural for me to be sitting in boredom scrolling through the same newsfeed that I just finished looking at. Technology/social media has done a lot of good in the world. It has helped re-connect loved ones, share beautiful stories, and build relationships. Heck, if it wasn’t for social media I would not be able to even post this blog. However, I would bet that many of us (including myself) have abused this tool. What if we were not “slaves to the technology we mastered”, but instead we were slaves to love. That sounds cheesy or just strange but really… What if we were motivated, driven and lived to love? What if we put the same amount of time and energy into living a life like Jesus did?
FUNDRAISING UPDATE: I am ecstatic to announce that I am almost $9,000 funded (only $3,000 to go!). I shouldn’t think that it is crazy, because that is how God works but my human brain still thinks it is unbelievable! Thank you so much to those who have supported me. You all have helped reveal Christ to me more.
With so much love,
Kristen
