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Short-circuiting Transformation

A Reaction Tim Challies, The Next Story: 
Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion, 2011.
How has the “As Seen on TV” production infiltrated our society and our churches? “A solution to what was not really a problem."

We have some problems that many church-assisting companies seem to sincerely help with: discipleship training, evangelism strategies, youth and children’s ministries, etc. and offer products that are meant to assist with the overall effectiveness of those ministries. But are we creating a solution to what really isn’t a problem? What if these are merely distracting us from what is REALLY important, a focus that if was met would provide its own solution? What if we focused on loving God and repenting of sin—what it takes to move us towards God and away from our idols? Would discipleship take care of itself? Would evangelism take care of itself? Would fellowship take care of itself? Would ministry take care of itself? Would keying up our leadership in worshiping God as a primary focus bring the eyes of fellow believers back to the simple Gospel of loving God and loving one another (the essence of the whole Law of God)?

“…the fact that there is a cell phone in nearly every pocket tells how much we value communication…” (73) or could it mean we value something else? Is communication the only value to cell phones? What do the mere appearances of holding a cell phone communicate? Are they like cars? Is there a symbolic communication with the type of cell phone one brandishes? Status, wealth, significance, skilled, savvy, business, leader, etc. perhaps communicate our values, but do these things mean we value communication with other humans in the way phones were intended?

By giving us control, our new technologies tend to enhance existing idols in our lives…we take control of things that are not ours to control” (112). Control really is something we humans have to deal with in life—the fruit of the Spirit in our lives is self-control. But how does this look if it is a fruit of the Spirit and not just us being in control of our self?

Technologies extend that “feeling” for control outside of our self and project it onto things that are never meant to be ours—things like other people where we develop false or unrealistic expectations, fears in our work place over money/profit, anger over petty losses. Certainly we can say these things reveal a deep rooted idol in our life!

Technology extends my sense of being needed. I ask teachers to send me an email of IT problems so I can attend to them in an orderly manner. But is my memory issue really a control issue? Should I keep a pad with me to take notes right then face-to-face and make the need more personal and connected rather than computer, mail, computer, pad, get the job done—without much personal interaction? And since I want to learn to be more personal and better at relationships, shouldn’t I make a change here to be more personal than techy?

“Could it be that our desire for control is short-circuiting the process of change and transformation God wants us to experience through the mess of real-world, flesh-and-blood, face-to-face relationships.” This is in addition to the above paragraph. THINGS are much easier to control as well as see results from. I want to invest in those things I can have immediate results from so I can not only see that things are getting done and that the system works, but so I can have the good feeling that goes along with it—that “I” am skilled at what I do and am needed.

I must be careful that this doesn’t turn into a driving force where I have made my sense of self come from. I wouldn’t want that to be where others gain theirs nor where I myself want to, but I can see how I may be leaning in this direction. I need to take some proper steps to move into areas I am not comfortable with so I can learn the greater character traits of being relational with people and call on God’s grace when I come up short—this will hopefully train my heart to connect to God for my sense of self than on my own self (building my pathways for success feelings) or on what I gain from others (approval).

--Thanks Tim for your godly insights!
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