“And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour?” Matthew 26:40
The NEW iPad…
Not many days ago, the announcement came to the world that the third generation Apple iPad would be hitting the stores for purchase. And what a revolutionary device the tablet computer has proven to be… Forget that computers once filled entire buildings, and then only entire rooms…and later still, the desktop. Now, computers don’t even fill the center slot of the briefcase…finding a home in the side pocket instead…more so still – the pants pocket for smart phone and Android users.
And what we can accomplish with them is amazing! We can make phone calls, compose email and other documents, make purchases, take and edit photos, make movies, exchange vital information, surf the internet, play games, and perform a few hundred thousand other tasks using any number of the brilliantly designed applications – many of which can be purchased for less than a dollar!
I find however, that my technological toys and tools can become so entertaining, so enthralling, that the time I would normally take to spend time with the Lord is absorbed by whatever is next, new, and now on the internet. How do we balance the tools of technology and the heart-cry for spiritual intimacy in our lives?
Hey, Matthew. Are you awake?
In the scripture passage above, Jesus is undergoing the tribulations of Gethsemane. His time is growing very close. He has asked his disciples to tarry with him and pray. But the day has grown long and they are weary. Their bodies are seeking escape and rest. They fall asleep. Twice more he returns to find them in slumber. When he awakens them, they are repentant, but the hour is now past. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. They had not managed the time well and now, Judas and the mob were approaching.
Technology Is Not Bad
I think it’s important to make sure and not blame the tools here. The problem isn’t the iPad, it’s the iMe. I am the problem. Maybe you are too. Our habits, our routines… Days are made up of seconds and minutes. Months are made up of days, and our lives consist of chains of days and months and years. How am I spending my time? Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 helps us in understanding that there is an appropriate time for everything. Verse one reads: “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.”
It’s Not About Working More
Technology was supposed to give us more time with our families. Computers were supposed to help us to get our work done so quickly that we could free up time to spend in leisure. Well, it didn’t work that way. Technology has given us more time to do more work. And then when we finish the work, what is the temptation? To return to our technology and disappear. Intimacy with one another, and intimacy with the Lord can be crowded out. iPads for knee pads… an exchange I am aiming to make much more often.
Scripture to Claim: “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.”
