Sharing My Faith

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In my weekly Bible study, we talked about how the Israelites kept forgetting all the good things God did for them; all the comfort and protection He provided. I was reminded of this syndrome people put themselves in when hearing someone complain about the loss of the personal touch of communication. No matter how much better our forms of communication get, some people are stuck in the past of “how things used to be.”

Exodus 16:3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

We look back at the marvel of the telegraph and teletype and how much easier it became to send a message, and with relative speed. Yet some complain the teletype messages were too short- not enough details. With the advent of the telephone, letter writing became less; less often and less necessary. People are not happy that someone hasn’t taken twenty minutes to think out what they’re going to say, write it all down, hopefully without error, and make it legible, address the envelope and find a stamp. Then they have to get it to an outgoing mailbox. Isn’t it nicer to be able to converse, instantly, maybe even over hundreds of miles? The phone has made life simpler, easier, and less time-wasting.

Now the phone is with us all the time. We leave messages instead of calling back until we reach a live person. People are taking care of business, taking care of problems, passing on good news, all day long, No more waiting for someone to be available. The message is available when you are ready. Still, some would rather you stay by the phone, write that long letter, and wait by the mailbox. It’s more personal. It shows you care.

All this admiration of the past neglects the acceptance of the good God has for us right now. People did not invent cell phones to distract us from our families. Necessity is the mother of invention. We are more capable of connecting with more people, more often, than ever before. Some of us seize this opportunity. Others lament about how much better things were in the past, and wait by the mailbox for that letter.

Technology can get in the way of your personal relationships, even your relationship with God.  You are responsible for the manner in which you use the technology of the time.  Praise God he has taken us from the Pony Express and a letter every now and then to a phone message or an email letter in the blink of an eye.  Make the connections with your friends and family. Don’t wait by the mailbox for someone to contact you.  Send an email message or a text.  Praise God someone left you a voice mail or an email, say a prayer for that person because they were thinking of you, then return the call or email with thanksgiving. Get out of this cycle of forgetting, and lusting for the past. God is good and He is good to us, when we remember to praise Him.

Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who love us.  38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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