Cell phone vs. God reception?
by Vivian
I don’t have a cell phone, so I find them more annoying than anything else (although it’s reassuring to know that they’re so prolific, we cell-phone-less folks can always find one to borrow in an emergency). Maybe they’re making better cell phones these days, but I often find it hard to hear the person on the other end. The worst part is, they’re annoying even when you aren’t using one.
Whenever you find yourself behind a bad driver, chances are they’re on their cell phone (yes, I’m looking forward to July 1, 2008 when hands-free devices are required in CA). And if you’re with someone who has a cell phone, you can be put on hold when you’re not even on the phone (nothing like being prioritized in person).
But I wonder: who are people talking to all the time? Why? Is the shower our only haven of solitude left (although I found waterproof cell phones on Google)? Are we losing the ability to be alone with our own thoughts?
Worse yet, is God getting a busy signal?
In “Experiencing God : Knowing and Doing the Will of God” by Henry T. Blackaby & Claude V. King, the following statement struck me:
“If I have trouble hearing God speak, I am in trouble at the very heart of my Christian experience.”
If we don’t give God a chance, how can we hear Him?
Why do we prefer to talk to “real people,” who often let us down, instead of God, whose love never fails?
January 11th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Wow, that’s a great question. I think it may have to do at least partly with the invisibility thing. I feel pretty confident that I’m getting at least some of God’s signals, but I’m certain that I’m often not hearing the ring (as happens regularly on my cell phone), and I admit that sometimes I choose not to pick up. It’s easy to put off someone who is not standing right in front of you.
Yesterday I was reading a strange love story that touches on this. As was common in that era, the Jewish king Solomon married many women from nations all around, and I mean ALL around, who worshipped other gods. Although he ended up with at least 700 wives and 300 concubines, “he held fast to them in love.” That’s a pretty baffling scenario to me, and God wasn’t pleased with it either because Solomon showed his love by honoring those other gods.
What surprised me, though, is the full reason why God was angry about this:
Earlier, Solomon had done great things for God, but apparently he ended up “prefer[ring] to talk to ‘real people,’” despite the fact that God had done amazing things for him (granting him wisdom, power, fame, fortune) and honored him with two in-person appearances.
January 11th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
We can, indeed, fill up our ears with so much that is unimportant that we can no longer hear God. But cell phones, annoying as they sometimes are, are not the problem. People have not always had cell phones, but they have always had fingers.
Zechariah says: But they refused to pay attention, and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. (Zechariah 7.11, NASB)
Wait a minute, maybe they did have cell phones, because verse 13 says: And it came about that just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,” says the LORD of hosts.
Kidding aside, the warning is a good one for us, too, and adds another reason why not being able to hear God is very dangerous.
The question about “real people” vs. God is interesting, but I’m not certain that the two are mutually exclusive. Sometimes we use real people to avoid talking to God, and sometimes we talk to God by talking to people. Sometimes we even talk to people by talking to God.
But anything that hinders our communication with God is, by that very result, not a good thing.
January 12th, 2008 at 8:32 am
My problem is I don’t listen to anybody.
Alright, I heard you guys laughing at me and that hurt.
I am too much in a hurry. I’d be more likely to listen/read what God has to say to me if He had a blog.
I am pretty faithful if I can see the results…NOW.
I hope I have the sense to slow down and listen to God talk to me BEFORE He slows me down.
Thanks for the reminder, Viv!