Smorgasbord

This morning I took two of my daughters out for breakfast.
Anyone who lives in my area, knows about this wonderful smorgasbord restaurant.
It is always a treat to go there.

The restaurant is always filled to capacity…yet there is very little wait.
There is virtually any choice of breakfast, lunch, or dinner food you could imagine.

I decided to have a vegetable omelet…with fresh blueberries on the side.
My daughters made their selections based on their preferences.
There was something for everyone.

I saw some people overwhelmed with the amount of choices.
I saw others indulging in all their hearts desired.
There were too many choices!

Not too different from the smorgasbord our culture offers.

iPods with personal playlists; iPhones and iPads with personal apps; Kindle and Nook with our own downloadable library; On Demand; Facebook; Twitter…
That is only skimming the surface.

What if the culture’s smorgasbord was empty?
What if the sign at the beginning of the line said…

Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)

No distracting choices…just a simple…profound fact.

We are allowing our distractions to dictate our day.
Even if we purpose not to answer our cell phone, it drives us crazy until we do.
I won’t answer…I’ll just check and see who it is.

Text messages alerts, email notifications…sounds that have conditioned us to jump at their beck and call.
Instead of being still, we are in constant motion.
Instead of pondering something we have read or listened to, we are being constantly bombarded with stimulus all day long.

The things that distract us, in and of themselves, are not bad things.
But our obsession with them…is.

We have become a slave to the technology that was supposed to free us!

What if we unplugged…if only for an afternoon?
What if we didn’t check Facebook?
What if we didn’t play that game on our computer or phone?
What would we do with the extra time?

I read something recently that has stayed with me….
For some, time is to pass.
For others, time is to fill.
For the Christian, time is to be redeemed.

If redeeming time was our criterion, what would we lay aside?

Would we talk face to face more?
Would we write more letters instead of using text message shorthand?
Would we stop playing games on computers and start playing board games on the floor, or ball in the yard?

Could we unplug and be silent?

I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

It seems that the only thing we must be attached to, is Jesus.
His cord can never be severed.
His cord enables us to be productive.

Unplugged from HIM, we can do nothing.

Lord Jesus, help us to redeem the time and use these tools wisely…for YOU.

2 responses to “Smorgasbord”

1. What if we stopped reading your blog?? Nah, that is too radical~ besides it is food for the soul!

   Reply

   • Janna,

     You got me!
     I actually thought of that as I wrote this piece.
     IF the blog is a distraction, then a break from reading it would be a wise thing to do.

     They are questions I have to ask myself when choosing to do something:
     *is this productive?
     *is this redeeming the time?

     Thank you for your continued encouragement.
     Food for the soul…what a precious thing to say!

     Gina

     Reply