Can I confess something to you? There’s one thing Aileen does that really bugs me. We will be talking together and enjoying one another’s company. But then, as we chat, I’ll hear the telltale buzz of her phone. And I can tell that I’ve lost her. I can see it in the look on her face, I can hear it in the tone of her voice. She goes from making eye contact to breaking it, from engaged to distracted, from involved in conversation to muttering toneless “uh huhs.” I know immediately that I may as well just pause and wait so she can check her phone and reply to the message.
An old author once pointed out “the Pharisee in the temple confessed a great many sins—but they were his neighbor’s sins and the publican’s sins; he made no confession of sin for himself.” Ouch.
So on that note, I am guilty as charged. I know I do the exact same thing as Aileen. Yet for some reason, my own behavior doesn’t trouble me nearly as much as her’s. I suppose I’ve convinced myself that I alone have the ability to remain fully involved in two things at once, that I alone can remain engaged in meaningful conversation with her while at the same time dashing off a message to a friend. But she’d probably be the first to say, “There’s something Tim does that really bugs me.”

I was recently listening to a sermon in which the pastor was assuring us of God’s heart of kindness toward us and his concern for us. He assured us that God loves it when we pray and that he always hears our prayers. And he dropped a little line that’s been rattling around my mind ever since. He said simply, “God’s never distracted by his phone.” On the one hand that’s perfectly obvious as I’m pretty sure God doesn’t have, need, or want a phone. But on the other hand, it’s thought-provoking. It’s comforting. It’s challenging.
The fact is, I have become accustomed to having a phone between myself and the ones I love. My family has been known to gather in a single room yet be a million miles away from one another, each of us wide-eyed in the light of our little glowing rectangle. We all know what it is to try to relate to people who are distracted by a phone. And we all know how much better it is to be undistracted. The challenge, of course, is in living that out.

I heard the other day that one of the best things a couple can do for their sex life is refuse to take phones into the bedroom. That makes perfect sense because in the bedroom the phone is the enemy of intimacy. Likewise, I am sure that one of the best things an individual can do is refuse to take a phone into the worship service, and one of the best things a pastor can do is refuse to take a phone into his study, and one of the best things a family can do is refuse to take phones to the dinner table.
Little did we know that just as our phones would come to serve us, we would come to serve our phones. Little did we know that slowly but surely it would mold us into its image.Share
Do you remember when Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone? As we gasped at that device and as we rushed to place our orders for it, little did we know how it would transform our lives, our families, our marriages, our faith, our world. Little did we know that a few ounces of silicon would have so much power and influence, that a few ounces of technology could impact the dining room, the classroom, the study, the bedroom, the sanctuary, and everything in between. Little did we know that just as our phones would come to serve us, we would come to serve our phones. Little did we know that slowly but surely it would mold us into its image.

Apple recently launched The Vision Pro as their cutting-edge entry into the field of what they are calling “spatial computing.” Though I have not yet used or even seen one, I have watched a number of reviews and what’s clear is that it dramatically increases the distance between the user and the world around. It inserts yet another device between the user and the environment—between the user and other people. If a device I can hold in my hand already has the ability to keep my attention from the people I love, how much more a screen that is mounted to my head and that sits in front of my eyes? Could there be a more obvious visual demonstration of how it is meant to impact us? Could it be any clearer how it intends to constantly insert itself between me and others? Apple literally wants me to see the world through its eyes!
Of course, we all know the Vision Pro is just a rough beta of the product Apple would unveil if it had the technological capability—a product that will be constantly before our eyes instead of occasionally there, a product that will “enhance” all of reality and not just a few hours of the day. That may seem like the realm of science fiction, but so did the iPhone until Steve Jobs announced it. The Vision Pro is a glimpse of the future Apple wants for us, a glimpse of the future Silicon Valley wants for itself—a future in which it mediates our lives even more than it does today. In that way, it’s like an iPhone, only more so. Much more so.

And so, at the dawn of a new technology—a new category of technology—I am reminded that one of the best things any of us can do is to embrace new technology thoughtfully rather than naively and with a thorough examination of its inevitable drawbacks rather than a brief skim of all its great promises. The challenge is that the benefits will be immediately apparent (they’ll be written on the box!) while the drawbacks will take time to understand. I hope, I pray, I trust that as we are introduced to something new, something that wants to be omnipresent (and probably brag about being nearly omniscient) in our lives, we will think deeply, pray earnestly, and introduce it only when we know what it is, what it does, and how it seeks to change us to be more like it.

Grace and peace to you, my friends.

I wanted to remind you of my book launch event in Nashville on Labor Day. I’d love to see you there. It’s a free event with Alistair Begg and CityAlight.
There are some nice new Kindle deals available today.
(Yesterday on the blog: Prayers To Pray While You Preach, Lead, and Sing)
How to Get More Out of Church
“As a pastor, I’m burdened for Christians to get more out of church.” So am I, which is why I’m glad Erik Raymond has an article on the topic.
Don’t Be Dismayed at Their Revilings
It’s amazing how surprised and dismayed we can be when reviled—surprising because we’ve been told to expect it!
An unexpected field for ministry
This is a neat account of how ministry in Angola has been spurred by China, of all places.
No Success Without Suffering
“Spiritual success requires suffering. There is no eternal reward without sacrifice.” If it was true of Jesus, it will be true of us…
Above the Clouds, There is Sunshine
“Do you ever secretly scoff at Israel’s failures in the wilderness, thoroughly convinced that you would’ve done so much better? They were firsthand witnesses to so many instances of God’s saving power and miraculous and faithful provision. ‘Come on now!’ we may think. ‘What is their problem?’ How could they so easily drift from obedience into ungrateful rebellion?”
Dealing With Abuse Overseas is Complicated
“What struck me the most were her lifeless eyes. Without emotion, the young teenager related to me disturbing descriptions of abuse in her home. Her father would verbally assault her and yank her hair. He would beat and kick her mother, locking her out of their bedroom for hours. My horror quickly turned to despair. As a teacher, I knew about mandatory reporting of abuse. But this was not the United States. I had no one to report to.”
Flashback: An Army Without Supplies
…these front-line missionaries, like front-line soldiers, are dependent upon a substantial network of support. They can only go where others prepare them to go and they can only stay where others equip them to stay.

God did not choose us because we would have faith but that we would have faith. —Will Dobbie

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

As is almost always the case on Mondays, there are some new Kindle deals available.
(Yesterday on the blog: Despise Not a Mother’s Love)
Boring Kingdom Growth
“Describe the kingdom of God. What words do you use? Amazing. Awesome. Wonderful. Exponential. Mighty. Terrific. What analogies would we use? I doubt you’d first think of what Jesus uses in Mark 4.”
Don’t Be Taken in by the Tolerance Trick
Greg Koukl warns against being taken in by the “tolerance trick.” “Real tolerance … is about how we treat people, not ideas. Classic tolerance requires that every person be free to express his ideas without fear of abuse or reprisal, not that all views have equal validity, merit, or truth.”
What 80s Parents Got Right About Pop Culture
Christians rightly have a complicated relationship with pop culture. There’s wisdom to be gleaned from this approach.
Thomas Aquinas, the Evangelical?
Leonardo De Chirico is working on a book on Aquinas and considers the idea some are suggesting today: that Aquinas can be associated with Evangelicalism.
Pray as Slaves
“I confess that sometimes when I pray I can forget my place. Embarrassingly, I come to God to give Him a little advice. I’m not sure He fully understands the situation down on the ground, so I need to let Him know what’s going on and give Him a slight corrective. Because if He knew what I knew, then He’d surely handle things a little differently.”
Unfolding a Letter of Encouragement
“If you look down the corridor of history it’s easy to spot a multitude of Christians who have endured severe consequences for the sake of Jesus Christ — a good reminder that Jesus’ words are fulfilled in every generation of the church: ‘If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you’ (John 15:18).”
Flashback: Unanswered Prayer
Why are there times when God seems not to answer? If a good Father would never give his children a stone in place of bread, why does it seem like God sometimes does this very thing?

We only fully grasp the gospel when we understand, as Paul did, that we are the worst sinner we know. —Tim Keller