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!
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
It ain't over ...
You gotta love God's timing on things.
Earlier this month, the Quebec government passed a law allowing for assisted suicide and a Japanese cabinet minister opined that the elderly should "hurry up and die", and take pressure off resources for social services. ("If they would rather die," said Scrooge, "they should get on with it, and decrease the surplus population.")
Now, we have two incidents of note that make one think a bit harder. The former Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, is showing signs of brain activity, seven years after being felled by a stroke. (Frankly, I thought he had died, but he has been alive ever since, in a vegetative state.) Meanwhile, in China, a 101-year-old woman was declared dead, but woke up as she was being placed in her coffin. The "celebration of life" was quickly re-purposed as ... well ... a celebration of life.
Chalk these up as two more instances where we think we know what's going on and God says, "oh, no, you don't!" We think life and death are things over which we have control, and God reminds us that He's in charge and He has things all planned out. As with anything in life, our attitude should be, "where is God?" rather than, "isn't it awful, what's happening to me?"
Under a "right to die" scenario, Sharon -- who was 77 when he had the stroke -- may well have been buried long ago. Instead, while his doctor says the chances are "very, very slim" that he'll ever get out of bed, he does say his colleagues will be studying the case to learn more about humans in a vegetative state. Besides, when he had the stroke, who would have predicted he would last this long?
Any kind of miracle is worth celebrating, and yet there are those who would talk about "quality of life", as if life is defined by whether we can continue to play tennis, have sex or eat chocolate cake at will. I'm sure that attitude contributed to my dad's going out more with a whimper than a bang when he passed away at age 88: looking at what one can't do, rather than what one can. It's at times like this that we need to remember that Jesus came to bring us abundant life. He didn't say anything about "quality".
Then again, when we remember that 0ur lives -- in whatever form they take -- are gifts from God, what more "quality" could we ask for?
Earlier this month, the Quebec government passed a law allowing for assisted suicide and a Japanese cabinet minister opined that the elderly should "hurry up and die", and take pressure off resources for social services. ("If they would rather die," said Scrooge, "they should get on with it, and decrease the surplus population.")
Now, we have two incidents of note that make one think a bit harder. The former Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, is showing signs of brain activity, seven years after being felled by a stroke. (Frankly, I thought he had died, but he has been alive ever since, in a vegetative state.) Meanwhile, in China, a 101-year-old woman was declared dead, but woke up as she was being placed in her coffin. The "celebration of life" was quickly re-purposed as ... well ... a celebration of life.
Chalk these up as two more instances where we think we know what's going on and God says, "oh, no, you don't!" We think life and death are things over which we have control, and God reminds us that He's in charge and He has things all planned out. As with anything in life, our attitude should be, "where is God?" rather than, "isn't it awful, what's happening to me?"
Under a "right to die" scenario, Sharon -- who was 77 when he had the stroke -- may well have been buried long ago. Instead, while his doctor says the chances are "very, very slim" that he'll ever get out of bed, he does say his colleagues will be studying the case to learn more about humans in a vegetative state. Besides, when he had the stroke, who would have predicted he would last this long?
Any kind of miracle is worth celebrating, and yet there are those who would talk about "quality of life", as if life is defined by whether we can continue to play tennis, have sex or eat chocolate cake at will. I'm sure that attitude contributed to my dad's going out more with a whimper than a bang when he passed away at age 88: looking at what one can't do, rather than what one can. It's at times like this that we need to remember that Jesus came to bring us abundant life. He didn't say anything about "quality".
Then again, when we remember that 0ur lives -- in whatever form they take -- are gifts from God, what more "quality" could we ask for?
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