Danville Enlightener

VOL. IX, No. 1

January 6, 2008

Technology & Worship

Technology is something that is both wonderful and maddening. I would not like to return to the days that I struggled to put out a bulletin using a “Brother” portable typewriter and a Gestetner 300 Duplicating machine. Using a computer has made the task much more manageable.

During the holidays I was transfixed watching my grandchildren play football on a Wii Video game. While seeing the action and hearing the voice of John Madden I almost believed I was watching a real football game. My mind drifted back to the vibrating football game I got when I was a child. The men “moved” up and down the field when the field vibrated. The only trouble was you never knew which way they would vibrate.

BlackBerrys, Cell Phones, text messages, hot zones and emails have become as much a part of our life as radio, perhaps more. For many doing without these would be like returning to the days of typewriters, vibrating football games and phone booths. Many people depend upon this technology for their livelihood. Many think they cannot go anywhere without being connected. However, when technology invades one’s ability to worship God in spirit and in truth it has become both sinful and maddening.

In the January 2008 issue of Readers Digest there was an article by Ron Geraci entitled “Don’t Be Overwhelmed by Technology -- Get a Grip” in which he pointed out that technology overload has contributed to the rise in stress among many. He writes: “There’s little evidence that the rapid pace of technological innovation has made life markedly more enjoyable. In fact, it may be doing the opposite. Consider a 2007 survey by the American Psychological Association (APA), which found that 48 percent of Americans feel their lives have become more stressful in the past five years.”

Geraci documents many stressful scenarios associated with information overload. From

having at our fingertips more information in 72 hours than a previous generation had in a month to diagnosing disease symptoms online often with incomplete or incorrect information.

In the article Geraci gives eight tips to fight this overload, some of which I thought interesting. One thing he said was, “Try being inaccessible for short spurts to see what happens. The world probably won’t implode.”  Also, Geraci introduces the reader to a young man named Griffin Kiritsy a freshman at the University of New Hampshire. Kiritsy is quoted as saying: “I send and receive hundreds of text messages a day but only about ten e-mails.” He’s on the Net for four hours a day, often generating hundreds of instant messages in a half hour while “talking” to several friends in separate, simultaneous conversations.

He sounds like a typical technology savvy college student. But he added one very interesting limitation; he said he never does it on Sunday. “Once a week, I shut off my phone and don’t use any electronic gadgets.” It seems this young man recognized that he needs a break; he needed to shut out the causes of overload and then rest.

In the Old Testament God knew that people needed to rest and He gave the Sabbath as a day of rest (Exod 16:23). I know that the Sabbath Day restrictions and observances are not bound upon New Testament Christians. Furthermore, it would take someone who had little or no Bible knowledge to conclude that Sunday is the “Christian Sabbath.” However, what makes us think that we cannot use a break from the stress associated with the world’s technology? Even if it is not realistic to totally disconnect from technology on Sunday like the young man in the article, isn’t it possible to do it for the time we are in worship?

Am I really so egotistical to believe the world would collapse if I could not be reached for an hour or so? There may be some exceptions to this, but not many. Geraci gave this excellent suggestion as number three of the eight tips to fight overload. “Repeat these four words: ‘I have a choice.’ People who say, ‘My boss wants me to be reachable after 8 p.m.’ are likely exaggerating the control others have over them.”

Perhaps it is crucial that I be available, if so I will do so discreetly so as not to disturb others. But, never will I be guilty of text messaging a friend while I am by faith at the foot of my Savior’s cross. I will never use a handheld computer to watch a ballgame or check on a score while I am assembled to worship God.

The digital revolution’s most annoying word is multitasking. It means doing more than one thing at the same time. When it comes to worshiping Almighty God we must not multitask, because to do so is to worship poorly.

Edward M. Hallowell, MD, author of CrazyBusy says this about multitasking: “Human beings can handle two simple, low-level cognitive tasks at once, like filing and listening to the radio.” But he says a higher-level cognitive task (worship, jrb) takes dedicated brainpower to perform optimally. This means if I am text messaging while I am trying to worship God or if I am checking scores while worshiping, God is being shortchanged. I am not worshiping Him in spirit.

While technology is wonderful and advances in technology have improved our life immensely; we must never let the toys of technology rob God of what is rightfully His. “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth,” (Jn 4:24).      

-- jrb