Now there was a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately her flow of blood stopped. Then Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds are hemming you in and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I noticed that power had gone out from me.” When the woman realized that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him and how she had been immediately healed. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” —Luke 8:43-48

Technology is advancing at a rate

in human history.

We take for granted abilities that would have been

to our ancestors.

AI is now capable of generating conversation and writing that is nearly indistinguishable from that made by

.

Despite all of these advances, our well-being is

by many measures.

Anxiety, sedentariness, life expectancy, and loneliness are all going in the

direction.

We need to put appropriate boundaries around technology in order to live a fully

life. (John 10:10)

The Promises of Technology

Technology promises to give us the

to do more with less effort.

We can have the feeling of

without the messiness of face-to-face interaction.

We can buy whatever we want without leaving the

of our home or talking to another person.

We have the ability to encounter only the voices that are saying

what we want to hear.

We never have to be

again.

“The defining mental activity of our time is scrolling. Our capacities of attention, memory, and concentration are diminishing; to compensate, we toggle back and forth between infinite feeds of news, posts, images, episodes—taking shallow hits of trivia, humor, and outrage to make up for the depths of learning, joy, and genuine lament that now feel beyond our reach.” —Andy Crouch

When we gain all of this, we lose something fundamental to what it actually is to be human.
“We expect more from technology and less from each other.” —Sherry Turkle

Made for Relationships

God made us for

. (Genesis 2:18)

Our use of technology gets in the

of our relationships.

A recent study shows a correlation between excessive

use and marital dissatisfaction.

Our preoccupation with screens can cause us to miss the most

moments of our lives.

During his ministry, Jesus was generous with his

. (Luke 8:40-42, 43-46)

Despite the urgency of the situation, Jesus

to speak with the woman in need. (Luke 8:47-48)

Love is inconvenient, messy, and

. It’s also what we’re made for.

We cannot love our neighbors without

our neighbors.

“If I’m looking at the device more than I’m looking into someone’s eyes, I’m doing the wrong thing.” —Apple CEO Tim Cook

Practical Tips for Choosing Relationship

Choose

conversation instead of text, email, or ZOOM.

Visit a

store instead of shopping online.

Talk with your spouse/family and set

for devices.

Put your phone to

at night, and don’t wake it up first thing in the morning.

For parents, when turning off your phone feels risky, ask what a parent in the

would have done.

Action Step

Identify one way you can choose relationship

technology, and do that this week.

My additional notes:

.