Smart phones get a bad rap these days for distracting us. We bemoan the fact that everyone sits on the morning train or in waiting rooms looking at their smartphones. Remember the good old days when everyone just had their faces buried in newspapers, magazines, and books? We say that we’re addicted to smartphones because we can’t keep from checking them every 2 minutes to see if there’s any new information we need to know about, but how is that any different than listening to talk radio ALL DAY LONG like it was an IV?
Before you throw a bunch of statistics at me, let me make it clear that I’m not defending smartphones. What I am doing is pointing the finger at us.
Sometimes when I hit a difficult spot in a project I’m working on, I’ll feel the pull to take in some new and unrelated information as a way of distracting me from the work that’s already in front of me. That’s when I’ll grab my phone to check email, look at the headlines, and maybe even jump onto F-book. It’s something I’ve done for years, but until recently had never analyzed it enough to put my finger on what was really going on. Basically it’s just a way of changing the subject. Now, it’s true that sometimes it can be a good thing, because stepping back for a few minutes can reset my head enough that I can re-engage my work with fresh perspective. A lot of times though, it’s just a way for me to avoid what really needs done. I think this is something we humans have done for a very long time and that the smartphone is just the latest tool available for the task. Granted, it may be the best tool ever for the task (by a long shot), but the point is that the tendency has always been there.
One of the most interesting places for me to watch this play out, is in the arena of Christianity. From the way we read books, listen to podcasts, go to conferences, and jump around to different churches, you would think that we’ve already mastered everything we already know about our faith and that we just need something new to work on. Something tells me that's not the case though.
It’s always been amazing to me how simple, and yet difficult to follow, the teachings of Jesus are. Love your enemies? Pray for people who persecute you? Do for other’s what you’d like them to do for you? Really Jesus? I’m not sure if I like that way that sounds. You got anything else? Oooh, here’s an interesting discourse on the inner workings of the Roman government that can give me deeper insight into what life was like in the time of Jesus. Perfect! That’s something I can sink my teeth into for awhile with ZERO conviction and no chance whatsoever for implementation.
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