There's a commercial for Bell that shows a guy walking along, blithely fiddling with his mobile device. All around him are images of fun things and entertainment -- games, TV shows, videos, etc. -- which are all available to him thanks to the wonders of Ma Bell. And when he's not playing with the device, he's busily texting, all while walking.
He's hip, he's cool, he's obviously blissed-out with his device; and I can't help thinking that what's missing is the car coming out of nowhere, slamming on the brakes and missing him by inches as he walks on, oblivious to the fact that he'd just stepped off the curb without checking the "Don't Walk" signal.
Or maybe, instead of the fun things and entertainment surrounding him, they could show images of war, terrorism, poverty, environmental destruction, etc.: things to which he is now oblivious because he's buried in his mobile device.
Most of three generations of people in the developed world are in danger of missing out on both hazards and beauty in the world around us because they're being duped into believing that escaping into a mobile device with its games and other diversions (not to mention other hi-tech toys from video games to computer-imbued glasses) is the be-all and end-all of existence.
Worse, as they miss out on life, they're also missing something else even more important. We're in a time when the signs Jesus told us about that would precede His return -- and before that, Armageddon -- are popping up all around us. Indeed, He says we need to be aware of what the signs mean, just as we know that the turning of the leaves means fall is approaching or gathering clouds means a storm. We're seeing more and more people who will not only miss the meaning of the signs, they'll miss the signs, themselves.
John Lennon famously defined "life" as "what happens while you're busy making other plans."
We could update that: "Life is what happens while you've got your nose stuck in your mobile device."
HANG UP AND WAKE UP!
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