We had relatives visiting from Melbourne.  We showed off the local scenery here in Coffs Harbour where the mountains meet the sea.  After walking around for a while we took a seat in a restaurant where we could enjoy a coffee and at the same time watch the ocean.  At about the same time as we sat down a middle-aged couple also sat down at the next table.  My guess was that this was a husband and wife duo.  Perhaps he had an RDO and they had decided to avail themselves of the beautiful weather for some time out together for morning coffee.  Great!

I happened to be facing this couple and I noticed that while they waited for their order to be filled they both took out their mobile phones and began texting some unknown persons in their phone directory – or more likely, reading and replying to their Social Media posts.  Okay, it’s useful to do that when you have nothing else to do and you’re waiting for something to happen.  What I found more difficult to appreciate was that when their coffee arrived they continued to be absorbed by their phones.  It wasn’t long before I could hear the pinging of their phones as others responded to their messages.  This continued right through their coffee break.  Their only interaction was to show each other something that had appeared on their phone.  That happened twice.  It was only as they left that they put their mobile phones away.  I thought to myself, “Isn’t it wonderful to go out for a morning of text messaging together.”  What’s more, the beauty of the ocean scenery seemed to be lost on them.

I’m sure we’ve all witnessed similar things: the lady in the checkout queue who goes right through the checkout process while talking constantly on her mobile phone.  On one occasion I spent an hour on a Sydney suburban train where a young man spoke ‘loudly’ on his mobile phone for the whole hour... at times about fairly intimate aspects of his life.  I’m a reasonably tolerant person but there were moments when I felt like shoving his mobile phone down his throat.  Relax...!  I resisted the temptation.  Thankfully, in Sydney trains now have compartments where you may not use your mobile phone.

Okay, we all get caught out at times.  Not so long ago I was sitting in my doctor’s surgery when my mobile rang.  I had forgotten to switch it off.  As it happened, my GP was looking up some medical info on his computer and he gave me the nod to answer my phone.  I recall a pastor-colleague, who at a special youth worship service, asked the young people to make sure their phones were switched off – only to find that five minutes into his sermon a mobile phone rang.  Much to his embarrassment (and to the amusement of the young people!) it was his own phone.

There are a couple of things we do well to keep in mind.

First, that the people on the other end of our mobile phones are never as important as those who are physically present and with whom we are supposed to be interacting.  The lady in the checkout queue is treating the checkout chick as a non-person by ignoring her with her ongoing mobile phone conversation.  Of course we can get it horribly wrong sometimes.  When smart-phones first came out I noticed one Sunday, during a church service, that a couple of young people in the front row were busy on their phones.  I paused my sermon and suggested to them that this wasn’t the time to be playing with their phones.  One of the young ladies educated me and dealt with my ignorance.  She said, “Pastor John, we’re just looking at our Bibles on our phones.”  Having said that, I have sometimes observed someone sneaking a peak at their phone in church, most certainly for other reasons than to look at their Bible App.  In such cases it concerns me that the phone is treated as even more important than their Lord and Saviour.

Secondly, we ought not to allow technology to control our lives.  Technology is a wonderful servant but a depersonalising master.  At a time when society is being increasingly fragmented it’s great that technology helps us to stay connected.  However we need to set ourselves some boundaries lest we become enslaved to the technology.  Or worse... that it becomes an idol.

John Westendorp