Technology Overload

Some days, I'm inclined to toss the computer out the window and throw the cell phone in the ditch! Since when do we NEED everything that's out there to HAVE? Advances in technology have added costs to life, and I often wonder if all of them are needed. When I was a girl, TV was in its infancy; telephones were wired, had cords and a rotary dial. We didn't have microwaves, internet, or cable television. Life was simple. We played games, conversed, visited each other, and played outside winter and summer. Things are so different now. We must have cable or satellite television, computers, internet access, and cell phones, all creating a financial nightmare for those who think they must keep up with the Joneses.
Often, as I wait for a traffic signal to turn, I'll observe the people in the cars turning in the intersection. More often than not, more than half of them are talking on a cell phone as they drive. Office workers text on their phones while working at their desks; people walk in malls and on sidewalks and text or talk on their phones. Even in church, people are consumed by the little gadgets that we can hold in the palms of our hands. Television is another story. Three channels weren't enough, so one can now have a cable package that offers them hundreds of choices. How much television can one person watch? And how much of it is really worth our time? How much are we accomplishing for God's kingdom when we sit and allow images, often evil images, to flood our minds? Violence is now commonplace on television, as are homosexual lifestyles, and yet we sit on our comfortable sofas with remotes in hand and laugh at what break's God's heart. And we call it entertainment. Really? I wonder if God is entertained.
I see the fabric of our society eroding into a pit of sin, and we Christians seemingly have lost our voice. We sit idly by and often participate in and/or agree with the very things that God clearly calls sin.
Technology is a good thing, but Satan takes every good thing and uses it for his purposes. Technology is robbing us of fellowship, friendship, community, communication, relationship, and holiness. It brings pornography and all sorts of sexual sin into our homes at the click of the mouse. It steals our kids' innocence, and yes, even ours, and offers temptations which often can't be refused.
Maybe I should challenge everyone to put aside techie gadgets for one day a week -- no TV, no internet, no phone calls, no electronic notebooks or iPods -- and instead focus on family and friends. I think I know what the world would be like if we did that. I just don't know if anyone would be willing to take the challenge.