DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY CAN BE both a blessing and a curse. It can be a blessing when it helps us spend more time with God and our families. However, it can be a curse when it takes time that belongs to God and our families.
My husband and I sat in our favorite restaurant recently, waiting for our food to arrive. Next to us sat a young couple waiting for the server to come and take their order. We were talking and minding our business but could not help noticing that this young couple pulled out their digital devices and began to scroll through without saying a word to each other.
I thought, Well, maybe when they get their food, they will talk to each other. But that never happened. The food came, and they began to eat while staring at their devices. They sat there the whole time just glancing at their phones instead of enjoying each other’s company.
MORNING AND EVENING
How can we be sure technology is a blessing for our family instead of a curse? Are you concerned about the effects of today’s digital technology on the minds of God’s children? The leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church launched a new initiative called Back to the Altar. It’s a call to every member to restore personal and family worship. This initiative seeks to educate, inspire, and encourage members to strengthen their relationship with God by spending more time in prayer and Bible study and less time on digital devices. It prioritizes allowing the Holy Spirit to talk to us through the Word of God and encourages healthy ways to use media. I’m excited about this initiative because I believe it will help transform our lives into the image of Jesus.
Back to the Altar reminds us that the people of God in the Old Testament erected altars to worship God. God instructed His people, “One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight” (Exodus 29:39). Likewise, every Christian home should worship God in the morning and evening. Prayer and the study of the Bible should not be neglected if we want to maintain a close relationship with God and grow spiritually. Ellen G. White says: “If ever there was a time when every house should be a house of prayer, it is now. Infidelity and skepticism prevail. Iniquity abounds. Corruption flows in the vital currents of the soul, and rebellion against God breaks out in the life. Enslaved by sin, the moral powers are under the tyranny of Satan. The soul is made the sport of his temptations; and unless some mighty arm is stretched out to rescue him, man goes where the archrebel leads the way” (Child Guidance, p. 517).
Digital technology has positive benefits. I enjoy listening to the Bible and other Christian literature on my phone. I read my Sabbath School lesson on my phone. When my son Gabriel was 3 years old, I bought him the book First Steps, which was also narrated on an audiocassette. He listened to that tape every single day and was able to memorize the whole book, even the ding sound to change the page. My husband memorized entire books of the Bible just listening on his phone. So technology can be a blessing. But we need to ask God to help us use it wisely. Would you like to commit yourself with me to spend time worshiping God early in the morning and evening? Would you like to say to Jesus, “I want my house to be a house of prayer for the Lord”?
