With the advent of smart phones and other technology, our level of connectedness is unprecedented. However, has our constant connection with the outside work robbed us of our ability to find true spiritual rest and connect with God?
Writer and speaker John Koessler of Moody Bible Institute offers some insight into the true cost of our connectedness.
“We don’t see ourselves as being addicted to being connected to the web, but it’s sort of like the comfort of a crowd, that’s always there.”
John admits that he seems to be dependent on connectivity at times as well.
“One of the first things I do when I wake up in the morning is I check my email or if I’m trying to grade papers I’ll be distracted and think, ‘Oh, I wonder what my friends are doing on facebook.’ So there is something about that connectivity that causes me to be distracted often and when I detach from that it actually can create a kind of anxiety.”
Not only can being dependent on connectivity lead to lots of wasted time, it can also have unintended spiritual consequences.
“I also think it becomes a kind of shield that keeps me from connecting with God and with other people. These things are so central to our experience, you can see people who are sitting right next to each other and instead of having a conversation with words they are texting.”
The way we relate to one another has been fundamentally changed. So what do we do?
“You really can’t do it without some kind of intentionality where you really are taking steps where you’re creating space in your life. It’s a simple solution, but it’s not an easy solution because we feel so connected by it.”
When we feel connected we feel good. When we take that connection away we lose that feeling of security. This makes it hard to stomach putting down our device because it can make us feel anxious. However, we know in the end it will be worth it to disconnect.
“We become aware of God’s presence, we’re not making room for God, he’s already there, but we’re trying to make ourselves aware of his presence.”
