Research tells us that we now spend almost half our waking hours online—laptops, desktops, TV, I-phones, I-pads, I-pods, and similar technology. The average adult is awake for 15 hours and 45 minutes every day and over 7 hours of that time is spent using the proliferation of technology.
The average Xbox user is online for 84 hours a month!
Last Sunday, I taught about how all this technology (which is a very good thing used wisely) demands
something from our eyes, namely our fixed attention on a screen.
And often, because of this, we miss out on
seeing, hearing, tasting, touching and connecting with the things of God.
The author of Hebrews (12:2) writes,
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”
Fixing our eyes on things of God is something that is harder to do while fixing our eyes on a screen.
And so each day this week I challenged, and took the challenge of, consciously
taking time to see Jesus by making the following three lists: 1) Five blessings;
2) Five things of beauty; 3) Five people who give us a chance to experience God.
If you take this challenge, at the end of day seven, you’ll have 105 reminders of how God
is present, at work and lovingly interested in our well-being.
Here are a few items from my list so far.
BEAUTY: My daughter’s eyes, a baseball field just before
first pitch, Monet’s “Water Lilies”, the color blue, the music of Rachmaninoff,
the lyrics to Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” a perfect golf shot, a
new idea, a tree gently swaying in the wind, the beach.
PEOPLE: Emily, manager of nearby Starbucks; Carlos,
backgammon genius; Rafa Nadal, tennis great; Craig Kimbrall, Braves closer; JC,
a friend of a friend who is a great conversationalist; Shelley, a woman who
lives out her faith with both seriousness and joy; Akshay, 8-year old piano
student who gets so excited he drools;
Tim Hooper, Terminix account manager; My family; George, a man of God
and a friend in the truest sense of the word.
