"Tech"

We’ve now been zoomed and Facebooked,

Had instagrams and tweets,

Email seems like old school,

Tick tocked with funny treats.

The news it comes in constant,

The headlines change each hour,

The apps fill up our smart phones,

Crowding out the power,

Of quiet in the country,

Where the cell phone does not ring,

Hardly any interruption,

And serenity is king.

And maybe you prefer it,

Or it’s all that you’ve known,

But some of us remember,

And think of it as home.

We used to have one TV,

The screen showed black and white,

We only had three channels,

But guess we did all right.

One phone in the hallway,

That all our family shared,

With others on the party line,

Some listened but they cared.

You see I have my reasons,

For saying all of this,

It’s not to make you feel bad,

And really I insist,

That we just catch a memory,

Of all that used to be,

Before the tech took over,

We got this way you see.

The smell of plowed up country,

And of fresh-cut hay,

The sound of crickets singing,

At the end of day.

The rhythm of the seasons,

The rain when it comes down,

The beauty of the sunrise,

And all so far from town.

The taste of cowboy biscuits,

And gravy rich ad thick,

The smell of Mama’s cornbread,

Would fill you up so quick.

Life without technology,

Or maybe not so much,

Closer to the cowboy way,

And honor God and such.

‘Cause the noise of all that’s running,

And high tech gone high speed,

Really can’t deliver,

Everything we need.

I say let’s try to unplug,

From all this noisy strain,

Be still and know that He is God,

And call upon His name.

“Don’t copy the customs and behavior of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think…” (Rom. 12:2, NLT)

The way we think is changing, It is being shaped by technology and the flow of information we receive. This is not entirely bad, but we as followers of Jesus Christ must be aware that our high-tech world may deceive us and impair our spiritual growth. When life was simpler our faith in God was stronger. And that’s what we need to live the life God has planned for us. We are transformed as the Lord renews our minds, and this is done best in quiet moments away from distractions. What did we do before we had all this? I think sometimes we did better.

Lord, transform us by the renewing of our minds, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Mark Maggiori, markmaggiori.com, used by permission. Thanks, Mark, and God bless you.