By Kevin Nowacki
(7 minute read)
We live in such an incredibly unique time where we have unimaginable technology and immediate access to everything happening around the world. As a byproduct of this, there is a steady stream of information flooding our mind at all times. In some ways, this could be a huge benefit. We can be in contact with our friends and family on the other side of the world, we can travel to other countries and cultures in just a few hours, we can stay up to date with important world issues, and we have access to thousands of incredible resources at the tips of our fingers. But is all this something our tiny little brains have the capacity for?
God created us to rule over the Earth and all of creation. We see this laid out for us in the book of Genesis very clearly. But is what we see today exactly what He had in mind? Did He intend for us to rule over all of creation all over the world all at once? Because that is what it feels like to me. It feels like we are responsible to keep up with every sporting event, every news story, every social media post, every friend, and everything going on all the time. An expectation that no one set but ourselves. With all this free and ubiquitous information comes a curiosity about it all and a desire to keep up with it all. Where does this pressure or this urge come from?
Please excuse my cynicism here, but this is where some unintended evil comes from. People who design all of this technology and information ecosystems have just become way too good at what they do. The technology that gives us all this power and access also traps us in a pursuit that can never be satisfied. Insane amounts of psychology and neuroscience research has been poured into all of this technology to make us consume more than ever. When we are not consuming, we experience feelings of withdrawal or even the dreaded FOMO that everyone has experienced from one time to another. I do not believe that the people who create this technology are sitting behind the scenes doing an evil laugh while creating these traps, I just think that they are really good at what they do. And it is having consequences that we fully do not understand yet.
Recently I have had more “glass shattering” moments than ever before when it comes to these things. I find myself ignoring the people in front of me to consume brain-numbing content on my device. Before I know it, an hour has passed. I totally didn’t hear anything my friends were saying, I realize the time that was just lost in nothingness, and my stomach drops… The thoughts, “what the heck am I doing…?” goes through my head every single time. I then try and be intentional about keeping my attention and presence in the current moment. But after some time just trying to be present, I feel this unshakable urge to grab my phone… I do not know what is happening deep down in my subconscious brain, but I feel this thing deep down that shouldn’t be there. I have now realized that I have this deeply engrained horrible habit that I know I need to get rid of.
Now that the glass is shattered… I cannot help but see it in the world around me as well. Seeing people everywhere I go consumed by never-ending consumption. What seems to be the hardest place to see this shattered glass is in people’s lives that I am closest to. Fighting the juxtaposition of not wanting to condemn or judge anyone, but constantly wanting to draw people back in from missed experiences and drowned out presence. The world has looked dreary and distracted recently. Having self-conviction about something like this does not apply to anyone else but myself, but I also truly want the best for everyone around me.
The problem here is that this is not an awareness issue… It is an actual addiction problem. I think everyone would admit and agree that they spend too much time on their devices. But for some reason we just can’t seem to break free of these chains. An issue of addiction sits a little heavier than someone not being aware of the problem at hand. This is not something that can be changed by anything other than a self-conviction from within and from God.
Since this is a deeply rooted issue, my current response is to pray for eyes to be opened and hearts to be convicted of these things clearly created by the enemy to distract us… Some pastor somewhere sometime once said something along the lines of “if the devil can’t make you bad, he will make you busy”. What I see happening is a constant busyness of the mind…always bouncing from one thing to the next…struggling to sit still…attention pawned off to the next highest bidder…our brains never turned off…consumed by some external stimulus every minute of every day. This is not really how I imagine God created us to live or be in relationship with Him.
My brother-in-law, Javi, had some profound thoughts on this topic, “We are at a point in our history where the combination of social media, smart phones, and other phenomena are collectively shaping our minds, personalities, and habits into people for whom acting out of love is becoming a more unnatural and difficult response. And if we don’t do something about it soon, we will lose a generation of people to the empty promises of this world that will leave them thirsty and unfulfilled – missing out on the fullness of life that God has made available to them through the person of Jesus Christ”… woof… now that carries a way different weight compared to just saying we spend too much time on our phone. You mean to tell me we can actually miss out on a closeness with our Creator? We can miss out on the glory and promises He has for us? We can have a harder time emulating the light and love of Jesus within us? Sheesh.
No wonder myself and so many like me struggle to hear from God. We don’t leave any room for Him to talk or us to hear from Him. How can I hear God speak to me when my mind is hung up on the third Netflix episode of the day? How can I see the beauty of the flowers and sunset in front of me when I am watching another instagram reel? How can we develop deep relationships with one another when we sit around each other but spend our time scrolling on the couch next to each other? These are questions that have been racking my brain and burdening me more than I can handle inside my brain.
I have been praying for God to show me how I can navigate this revelation. Do I make a bold statement and call this problem out? Do I lead by example and hope something sticks out to people? Do I simply pray and let the Holy Spirit do the heart softening and glass shattering? Until He makes these things clear, I will write them down and see what happens.
Lord, please help this generation and this world. Do not let us miss the wonderful world you created for us to rule over. Do not let us let the short lives we have slip through our fingertips. Soften our hearts and open our eyes to what real relationships feel like and what a healthy community looks like. Most importantly, show us how to fix our eyes on You and draw our attention back to You. This is the first thing that must be done to expose these other secondary problems. If we do not have You to fill this void, we will fill it with other worldly things and miss the whole point again. Before anything else, help me and those around me to see You rightly and pursue a genuine relationship with You. Then, open our eyes to a world filled with love, purpose, intention, and beauty. I love you LORD Jesus. Thank you for putting this on my heart. I lift You up above all things – today and every day.
Amen.
Thoughts For Food 