Sometimes, You Need to Unplug

He came into my office. He made fun of my desk. He laughed at my workspace. And when all was said and done – I agreed.

Let me give you a scenario of my office. As a pastor of a country church (not too small unless you are comparing to Dallas churches where under a 1000 is tiny), i have my bookshelves surrounding me. Now Ive given hundreds, nay thousands, away. I’ve passed on to members, seminary students, church libraries, and more. I have trimmed considerably, and now use a lot online or iBooks.

So, about 10 bookshelves with 5 shelves apiece.

I have a side table with my ‘to do’ piles – church council, SBC emphasis “Who’s Your One?”, Easter, and more. I have some nice chairs, a table with 8 chairs, and more chairs. But the objects of concern are the electronic devices … a Dell PC, a MacBook Pro – which is hooked up to a 36 inch TV as a second monitor, my iPad, a USB tower, my iPhone, and at the other end of the office, a new Vivio smart TV. And most days, I am running all but the new Vivio at the same time. I am not an IT pastor (though that would be a cool job), I am one who stays tethered. And, I am a classic Nomophob. Which is interesting, since the syndrome has only been around for a few years

I am a classic nomophob!

So maybe I do need to start pulling away, unplugging, and get a life not bound to electronic waves all around. maybe I do need to practice Lent and give some of this up. I was talking to a young newlywed couple that doesn’t have TV or internet at the house – they said for fun, they go down to the sheep barn. Sheep Barn? I didn’t want to know.

We all have something that brings us comfort, entertainment, etc. We have something we probably would find it hard to let go of – coffee, TV, FaceBook, Snapchat, IG, etc. I read the other day, when FaceBook and InstaGram were down, Twitter had a rise in use – mostly of people complaining that FB was down.

Now parents, before you get all “it’s these darn kids” – remember how Solitaire dominating employees time on the computer, say – not too long ago. We all have issues.

So, what is the cure? I wish there was a check list to find the cure – I guess I will have to google it. I will use electronics to get rid of electronics – seems self defeating. What I will do is spend more time with people, more time connecting with flesh and blood entities and not virtual ones. I will find contentment in relationships and not ‘likes’, hearts, or any other emojii. I will pick up a book, with real pages. I will get back to the trails and hike.

Yes, I will get outside. And praise God the weather is just right.

What will you do to get away from being enslaved to the internet and technology?

What will you do?