“The evolution of technology shows no signs of abating. We are at a place in history in which, if futurists are correct, tech will only increase its scope and power to change our lives.” – Douglas Estes, Braving the Future: Christian Faith in a World of Limitless Tech

While it seems that today’s smartphones and inventive apps have already created a digital-dependent culture, news outlets warn of impending new technology that will further change the way society functions and individuals interact with one another.

Just as the scientific advancements of the past 50 years resulted in the birth of tech companies, the internet, and an explosion of mobile technology, we can soon expect a new wave of innovations to hit the market. Some may seem amazing, some will be a blessing, but others will no doubt be disconcerting—causing us to struggle with our true nature and question the need for privacy and even religion.

How will we handle these new trends and products if we already spend an average of 11 hours every day interacting with media (Nielsen Total Audience Report: Q1 2018, July 31, 2018, Nielsen.com)? Our lives revolve around its consumption as we binge watch, text, and post our way through the storm of technology that encircles us.

Remember that 54-year-old prediction about computers that appeared in the cover story of TIME magazine on April 2, 1965?

Men such as IBM Economist Joseph Froomkin feel that automation will eventually bring about a 20-hour work week, perhaps within a century, thus creating a mass leisure class. Some of the more radical prophets foresee the time when as little as 2% of the work force will be employed… Even the most moderate estimates of automation’s progress show that millions of people will have to adjust to leisurely, “nonfunctional” lives. (Lily Rothman, This 50-Year-Old Prediction About Computers Will Make You Sad, April 2, 2015, time.com)

We can all agree that is not exactly what is happening. In fact, Americans are working more today than in 1965. We have become even more tethered to connective hardware (first pagers, then mobile phones, then smartphones and tablets) that demands 24-hour availability, forces multi-tasking and intrudes on our home life. How quickly life seemed to become more complicated instead of leisurely.

We didn’t seem to notice. Did we mistake our busy-ness for self-importance and depth of purpose? A more meaningful life? Looking back, perhaps we were already becoming trapped in the “tentacles of spectacle.” Nowadays, even our leisure time is wrapped up in Netflix, Hulu and YouTube.

According to author Tony Reinke, human beings are “hardwired with an unquenchable appetite to see glory.” In his latest book, Competing Spectacles, he warns Christians of an ever-present temptation: “In our quest to quench our thirst for glory, we are quicker to turn to the empty cistern of Hollywood than the fountain of living water found in Christ.”*

Today’s high-tech distractions—CGI-infused movies, social media, instant messaging, smart home devices, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, immersive advertising, quantum computing, the Internet of Things, etc., etc., etc.—are only “the passing spectacles of this world.”* These fleeting entertainments and trivial, yet captivating, products feed a human hunger that is meant for God.

In the digital age, monotony with Christ is the chief warning signal to alert us that the spectacles of this world are suffocating our hearts from the supreme spectacle of the universe. (Tony Reinke, Competing Spectacles: Treasuring Christ in the Media Age)

Yes, humanity is most likely nearing a technological tipping point, but is the answer to satiate our cravings with unlimited access to this world’s best and brightest spectacles? We are human and we do gravitate toward consumption of what is pleasing and new and exciting. But the Bible tells us, “…even though ‘I am allowed to do anything,’ I must not become a slave to anything” (1 Cor. 6:12, NLT).

The unavoidable spectacles of our technological acceleration should sound a warning for Christians… a call to self-discipline… a call to revive the muscle-memory God has placed in us. He created us in His own image; His Spirit dwells within each of us. We are connected to Him.

If you feel the inexplicable urge for connection, choose a divine connection. Instead of jumping on Facebook or Instagram, stop the scroll—shut off your smartphone for a few moments. Close your eyes and clear your head. Be still and pray. God is easiest to find in the silence and solitude. Chances are you won’t miss anything, but you will be drawn into the quietness of the Divine Spectacle… because He is waiting for you. He is waiting to mend the brokenness, to heal our wounds, to dry our tears. He is the balance to the chaos of this world.

Just a few distraction-free moments with Him…

by RJ Flower-Opdycke, Co-editor

*This article was inspired by: John Thomas, The Call to Self-Discipline in a Media-Saturated Age, May 20, 2019, christianitytoday.com.