February 4, 2020
by Eric Stillman
What a difference my smartphone has made for good in my life. It has helped me remember appointments and tasks, stay on track with my personal habits and disciplines, connect quickly with my family and friends, and redeem my down time by giving me quick access to edifying Kindle books, audiobooks and podcasts.
What a difference my smartphone has made for bad in my life. It continually seeks to enslave me to its notifications and interruptions. It has made it so much harder to sustain attention on anything important, from praying to reading to even driving. And it pulls me away from giving my family and friends my undivided love and attention when I am with them....Keep Reading
Tags: Smartphones, Seculosity, Technology
January 2, 2018
by Eric Stillman
For the first two months of 2018, I will be using this space to interact with “This is our time” by Trevin Wax, a book that appeared on many “Best of” Christian book lists of 2017. In this book, Wax looks at the myths our culture teaches us, affirms the good longings underneath those myths, and then challenges those myths with the gospel. I believe this will be a good exercise for us in how to be discerning as we live in our world, so that we might be as Paul exhorted the Ephesian church: “Be very careful, then, how you live-- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17)
The first chapter of “This is our time” is entitled Your phone is a myth-teller. In this chapter, Wax looks at the place smartphones increasingly hold in our lives and what they are telling us. If you own a smartphone, it is probably almost always within reach; you may even be reading this on your smartphone right now! The temptation to constantly check your phone, scroll through Facebook or Twitter, play mindless games, or click on your favorite app, is seemingly ever-present. And even if you don’t own a smartphone, hopefully this chapter will help you to understand how it is impacting the people in your world who do....Keep Reading
Tags: Discipleship, Smartphones
