Most of us know how important things such as quiet times are to spiritual growth, but sometimes quiet times can be anything but quiet. Take my devotional time this morning, for instance.
I began by logging into BibleGateway.com. As I scrolled down through
In between “The Lord is my shepherd” and “He makes me lie down beside still waters,” two e-mail notifications popped up. One message seemed urgent, so I just had to respond before I forgot.
Then my cell phone vibrated. I had to see who it was to make sure I wasn’t missing something important. By the time I got down to “He restores my soul,” I’ll be honest, I wasn’t feeling very restored.
Day after day, I find that as I engage in certain disciplines of the faith and strive for meaningful spiritual growth, my technology-saturated lifestyle seems to get in the way of what it really takes to experience a deep, focused and purposeful Christian life.
When we live in a culture where being productive and doing lots of things at once are so highly valued, there are certain spiritual disciplines such as solitude, meditation, fasting, even keeping the Sabbath that can feel a little out of step. Unfortunately, as our technology speeds up our lives and reshapes the value we put on things such as efficiency and productivity, these spiritual disciplines are more important than ever.
Let’s face it, whether texts, posts, ads, tweets, pokes, e-mails, links, updates, chats or iTunes, our technology has a way of cluttering up our lives and slowly sucking the purpose and focus from our days. Some of us don’t even notice the big sucking sound of our spiritual lives disappearing.
What we—and our kids—desperately need now more than ever, is sacred time and space. I believe that finding that precious space, that unimpeded time when we can reconnect with our Creator, can be the most significant thing we do as we seek to be effective ministers of the gospel. Here’s how we can reclaim it from the dominance of our technology and our Attention Deficit Disorder culture.
Outage, Silence and the Sacred
If we truly want to slow down and reconnect, it usually takes a little peace and quiet; but really, when is the last time you actually heard silence in your house that wasn’t accompanied by snoring? For me it was the last time the electricity went out.
I was in the middle of American Idol and off it went. I looked at my dog and back at the dark TV screen. I was lost. Everything was so, well, quiet. Honestly, silence takes a little getting used to. It dawned on me that night that I don’t perceive silence as being golden. I perceive it as being awkward and boring. The usual stimuli I have bombarding my every waking moment have created a deep restlessness in me when it is all turned off.
Silence, however, can be an especially powerful gift. Take for instance the way silence gives us space to think. According to pastor Kirk Byron Jones in his book Addicted to Hurry, more time to think leads to better decision making. As we speed through life, we tend to emphasize “fast answers over good answers…unable to see the larger array of options before us.” However, when we spend intentional time unwired and logged off, we thoughtfully and prayerfully can consider the opportunities God has laid before us.
Silence also gives us an ability to put the unending stream of information we face into context. According to Richard Foster, “We need not merely listen to the news, or read the paper; we can ponder its significance.” Instead of thoughtlessly engaging in one online interaction after another, we can take time to consider what we need to say and how we will impact the person on the other end. Silence can make us better thinkers.
Silence also can make us better doers. When we feel rushed, cluttered and dry, it is no wonder we begin to see the people God puts into our lives as interruptions. Henri Nouwen suggests that “solitude molds self-righteous people into gentle, caring, forgiving persons who are so deeply convinced of their great sinfulness and so fully aware of God’s even greater mercy that life itself becomes ministry.” This kind of deep transformation, the kind that restores and reshapes our souls, doesn’t happen quickly or loudly. It usually happens slowly and quietly, in a silent space where “Christ remodels us in His own image and frees us from the victimizing compulsions of the world.”
The need for solitude and disconnection is nothing new. Repeatedly, Jesus demonstrated the need to protect these private spaces. Whether it was spending time in the desert or praying in the garden, Jesus consistently spent time alone, preparing for the major events in His life. I’m sure this practice made His disciples nuts. There was so much to do and so many people to heal, but as Gordon McDonald reminds us, Jesus “understood what we conveniently forget: that time must be properly budgeted for the gathering of inner strength and resolve in order to compensate for one’s weakness when spiritual warfare begins.”
Sabbath, Fasts and Facebook
If we truly want to open ourselves up to hear God’s small, still voice, we need to be quiet. In a culture of endless noise, this often requires an intentional decision to disconnect. Fortunately, that disconnection doesn’t have to be the kind that drags us into a Facebookless world of buggies and black hats. We can be creative about finding quiet spaces.
For instance, why not schedule one afternoon a month to completely disconnect from the words and the voices that usually flood our days? Take a long, slow walk or stow away into a quiet, Wi-Fi-less room. Do what it takes to intentionally disconnect from everything, including soothing music, Bible passages and study notes. Initially, unstructured silence can feel aimless and uncomfortable. For me, it’s hard to grab onto the many thoughts and worries that start to bear down on my soul when I am quiet. It doesn’t take long, however, before God begins to focus my thinking. I pay attention to what feels heaviest on my heart—God puts those things there for a reason. I slowly pray through each issue, gradually feeling less rushed and less panicked. When I emerge, I honestly can say my soul is restored.
While regular times of solitude and prayer are vital to spiritual growth, you may also want to consider an annual overnight or weekend alone. A quick look at Jesus’ ministry demonstrates how He consistently spent extra times of solitude right before major events. Why not set apart some quiet space right before the fall activities begin or the summer mission trip to prepare spiritually for what lies ahead?
As important as solitude is, it’s not the only way to find space. Long ago, God gave us a tool to help us carve out a weekly time of rest. Unfortunately, most of us routinely minimize the need to keep the Sabbath. By creating a “Technology Sabbath,” we may be able to guard this precious time more intentionally. Why not put the computer and the iPhone away for one 24-hour period a week? Seriously, what is it that we actually gain by spending our Sabbath, our day of rest, checking e-mails and reading Facebook profiles? The ancient Jews understood how the Sabbath was not only a personally restoring day of rest, but also a way to be humble before a mighty God, acknowledging an inability to meet every need simply by working hard. We could learn something of humility and dependence by powering off for one day a week.
A final way to disconnect is to consider a “Technology Fast.” I routinely require my college students to participate in a Facebook fast in the classes I teach. I can’t say they appreciate the assignment, but they always come up with unanticipated insights. Many say they never realized how much time they actually spend Facebooking. While it was hard to get used to not flipping to Facebook between every task, they often report finishing their homework in half the time and actually having more time to hang out with their friends. Others find that once they told their friends they aren’t going to check Facebook for a few days, their friends started connecting in other ways that were more enjoyable. Many feel more focused and less stressed without the constant updates. By the end, most Facebook fasters vow to use Facebook less frequently and more intentionally.
While it is easy for me to shake my head at the attachment my students have to their technology, I’m not much better. When I decided to give up television for a week, I was a mess. It didn’t take long for me to become painfully aware of how little time I actually talked to my kids. I had so much extra time on my hands that I ended up doing more reading and game playing and actually felt more energetic each night before I went to bed. When my fast was done, I was acutely aware of the choices I needed to make in order to de-clutter and re-focus my life. The bottom line is that disciplines such as fasting, solitude and keeping the Sabbath can add clarity and peace to our high-velocity, technology-saturated lives.
Sharing the Discipline
As important as it is for us to consider these endangered disciplines, it is more important for our kids. Let’s face it: It is hard for most young people—who have been raised in a hyper-connected, over-stimulated world—to see the value of things such as silence and disconnection. Most of them don’t even realize they have a choice.
That’s where we can help. Almost every group I have talked with has said it is a lot easier to practice these disciplines when we have other people hold us accountable. For example, some groups come together and agree to keep Facebook-free Sundays. Other groups organize technology fasts and agree to give up things such as video games, text messaging or listening to music. By challenging our students to disconnect, then brainstorming what could be given up, how long it should last and how people can keep each other accountable, students can begin to experience the focus and clarity that comes from taking time to unplug from their noisy world.
Disconnection has a time and place—for our students and us. It is important that we don’t rush by spiritual disciplines that have so much to offer. Whether spending time in silence or organizing a youth group Facebook fast, it is never too late to disconnect from the noise in our lives and reconnect with the God who created the connections in the first place.
