Put the Screen Down!

     We all need this reminder every once in a while (I know I do).

       We live in a culture that is saturated with media. We go and watch movies, we listen to music, we check our email, we get on our various social networks, etc. this is just a reality of our culture.
     It wasn't always this way. It used to be that you lived in either a small farming town or a big city like New York and you would be reliant on the people around you to help out when you needed a hand or to keep your business running. There was a greater sense of community because our reliance was on the other people around us. Now there were those who lived way out in the boon docks who hardly ever had visitors (just read Laura Ingalls Wilder's books to get a peek at this) but you still had to rely on others for being able to get stuff like seed for the crops next year and fabric so that you could make new clothes for your family or mend the old ones and other basic necessities. There was more human interaction that was necessary back then than there is today and I think that it is not all good. If I need something I can guarantee you that someone is either selling it online or you could get the info pretty easily.
     It is no longer necessary to really have human interaction, even calling people is becoming more and more optional as time goes on. It is possible to live in a busy city and be completely cut off from human interaction. (Basically to be an urban hermit). I realize that it is not healthy for people to be like this (and most people aren't) but it is possible.
     It is convenient to have a computer and be able to text people but is that really fostering community or is it removing it one step from us? I think that in our society it would be really hard to find work without being able to use a computer and a phone. It is important to have these things in our culture.
     I believe there is a difference between using our various means of connecting as a tool and as a toy. I using it for a little recreation is fine but when you find yourself glued to a screen no matter where you are then you have a problem. I cannot say that I have always been good at being self controlled about this issue myself and as soon as I see myself getting more and more attached to my screens I find that I need to put them down or away for an hour or more and do something else.
      Maybe that means you go outside and enjoy whatever nature is close by, or maybe you sit down quietly with your Bible and journal for a while, or go doorbell ditch flowers on a friends doorstep. Just do something that gets you off and away from the screen for a while. You might be pleasantly surprised at what you can discover without being connected for an hour or two.

     Here is my challenge to everyone who has a smartphone/tablet/laptop who reads this go out without those things for at least an hour this week (if you are a parent then you may take a phone but absolutely NO using it unless it's an emergency). Go spend some time just enjoying the nature around you or your kids (if your a parent) without your phone (people don't need to see every second of your life). Go and just enjoy the beauty that God has blessed us with and do it without the distraction of a screen in front of you.
    (For the parents and others who already do this out there, you're awesome!)