Technology has made us more efficient and productive, but it has an adverse side effect. The pace at which technology goes allows us to do more and more things in less and less time, but it doesn’t make our lives more spacious. it doesn’t grant us more margin. Think about how cumbersome texting a full sentence is now, just put an emoji. The blistering pace at which we rummage through life has made our lives busier than ever.
Not only do we not have enough margin in our day but our anxiety levels have gone through the roof. We not only have to manage our everyday struggle and heartache, but now we have the disasters of the entire world delivered to us constantly in our glowing rectangular devices.
What’s worse is our souls can’t keep up with the pace of our smartphones. The frantic and volatile speed makes it impossible to receive and hear the life God is calling forth.
Our souls are created by God to be deep cavernous reservoirs. Our souls long for God to fill and immerse his goodness, filling every crevis, illuminating every darkness, and satisfying us square inch of our soul. As the sons of Korah expressed their yearning in Psalm 42
As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God… Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.
Psalm 42:1;7
Our souls longed to be filled. But in this accelerated velocity of media and technology, our souls are not satisfied, at least to the sufficiency that God desires. We’re left with shallow puddles that dry up and leaves us parched. Sure we can practice the disciplines, pray, read, worship, and serve, but it can feel shallow at times. We are more sipping the riches of God with a tiny spoon rather than gulping, swimming, or basking in his splendor. We are created to live in those deep places, not settling in the shallow kiddie pool.
We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory