"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." -- 1 Corinthians 10:13
I just have to tell you...SO MANY times I have been thinking about an issue in my life and something hits me at that exact time and makes want to write about it. That happened to me this morning. Yesterday I was watching my teenager with the device that seems to never leave her hand and TRYING to understand why she thinks the 7 second "vines" are so very funny. In my head I was thinking that her attention span is SO short and I need to do something to get the phone, Kindle, computer, etc. OUT of her hands for a few moments at a time so she can experience her last year or so as a kid. I then looked at MYSELF and I had my phone in my hand and was considering checking Facebook because it had been 10 minutes since I last checked it! Wait a minute...
I woke up still thinking about how tied I am to technology. I attempted to give up Facebook for a short period of time this spring, and discovered that is far too important to give up. It is my way to stay connected to friends and family. It is a mode of communication for several groups I belong to. It is a way of sharing pictures with people as well as seeing pictures of others that I want to see. I continued to contemplate the effects of Facebook and smart phone technology on my life when I watched my "I am Second" daily video. Tony Dungy speaks about how he encouraged his players to let the distractions around them disappear so they could concentrate on the goals ahead of them. He also made it clear to his superiors that although he would lead his players to win games and head to the Super Bowl, football and his job would NOT be first in his life. Tony learned to put God first and not let anything distract him for that goal.
I. am. distracted.
That is the biggest problem in my life right now. I am distracted by so many little things, such as my technological devices that it is much easier for me to take my eyes and my heart off the goal of putting God first. I am so distracted that I can't seem to stick to a healthy lifestyle, consistently make wise financial decisions, stick to a habit of quiet devotional time, or even spend quality time with my family. I used to be able to do those things...what happened?
Take a look in my family room in my home any given evening after my husband gets home from work. The TV is on, all three of us have a device of some kind in our hands and if there is any conversation, it is taking place simultaneously as we are checking Facebook, The Best Vines, sports scores, Pinterest or any number of other websites. It pains me to read back over that last couple of sentences because it seems very sad to me, but that is our currently reality.
Today, I am laying my heart and my prayers out on the table. I pray that I can work to change my family's current reality and encourage each one of us to put down all the technology for a period of time at home so we can connect with each other the old fashioned way. I pray that God blesses my efforts to put HIM and my family before my need to be "connected" by technology. Dear God, this issue has come into my consciousness for a reason and I believe I need to do something about it. Help me to know what to do and DO IT! I also pray for others who are reading this and feeling distracted as well. Lord, help us all to keep our technology in perspective and not let it run or ruin our lives. If we truly put YOU first, I believe you will bless our efforts. Amen.
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