How many of you spend time with real people? I’m not talking with the ones that you talk to online. Not the ones that you talk with on FB, Twitter, Instagram, or through email. I’m talking over a cup of coffee, lunch, or dinner. How about going out for an ice cream? When was the last time you met someone and talked with them about the Word of God? When was the last time you sat with someone and just listened to them about their family, or something that was going on in their lives?
Ten years ago, most of us would have never imagined all the social benefits of technology now offers. Even as I’m putting this blog together, I can’t believe that I can FaceTime my grandchildren in West Virginia, across town, or family in another state, or send a text to my wife who is just in the next room. By the time you read to the end of this blog who knows what new form of social media and technology will have been developed that offers even more ways to stay in touch with those we love or to follow those we admire.
We should maximize all that technology offers to help strengthen our friendships and relationships. But as the gravitational pull to live online continues to grow, we must remind ourselves that the best relationships are not those that are limited at a screen but those that involve loving a person in person.
So text away. Tweet what you’re doing. Post what you’re eating. But put more effort into your treasured relationships. Remember to call. Plan a visit. Eat with someone, and then sit and chat for two hours afterward, just remember to tip very well if you’re tying up their table. Sit across from each other in a coffee shop and talk about everything that matters and a few things that don’t. Make a meal for someone and bring it to their house. Take a long walk with a friend and just chat about whatever comes to mind. When someone you love is injured and in the hospital, don’t just text them; go visit them. Don’t just do life together from a distance. Do life up close. As Paul might have tweeted, “Be devoted to one another in love” (Romans 12:10).
I know that this gets touchy with our younger crowd today, but I get concerned that we’re loosing the art of communicating with each other face to face. We break up with each other over a text, we apologize on FB, we fight in public through social media, we vent everything and live our lives out in the open. Let’s get together and share with each other face to face. Have that conversation. Share the Lord’s Love with each other. See just how He might bless you.
Pastor Rob
