This will likely be viewed as the rant of a person that is not willing to acknowledge that he can see the crest of the “hill” and is looking middle-age squarely in the eye. Regardless, I feel compelled to comment on the noise that surrounds us and how it would easily consume us if we didn’t make a conscious effort to manage it.
We’re all familiar with the myriad communication methods we now have – Mobile phone, Email, Chat, Instant Messaging, Text Messaging, Blogging, MySpace, and Facebook. Amazingly, someone didn’t think that was enough so a couple of years ago they developed Twitter. Personally, I’ve used them all… all except for Twitter. That’s one I just don’t get. God bless you if you leverage that tool. But honestly, I don’t care if you just took out the trash or gave the cat a bath. I know, I’m sure there are more valuable uses but for me it’s all too much.
I wish I could say that I came to this realization first in my own life, but that wasn’t the case. It came to me while observing my 16 yr old son’s school study habits. For him we held out longer than most, he was 13 before he could use instant messaging, 15 before he had a MySpace account and cell phone, and 16 before he had text messaging. And as you might have predicted, we gave in far sooner with our next child, she has all four and she’s only 12!
All I can say is thank God for unlimited text messaging plans. When they got their accounts the flood gates opened. During the first month my son sent over 1,000 messages! I can’t recall the last time I saw him talk on the phone.
What does this have to do with study habits and God? Well he was struggling this year with some Advanced Placement courses. I patiently explained that the formula for success in school is as simple as:
(Study Habits + Time) * Course Work = Good Grades
As in most any formula there are some constants and some variables. The constant in this instance is the Course Work. I seriously doubt that his teacher will change or the assignments will change. What he can change are the first two variables, Study Habits and Time. As I observed what he called “studying”, he was constantly distracted by instant messages on his computer and text messages on his phone. It seemed so obvious to me what the problem was. As I was explaining this to him (impatiently this time) it occurred to me that I was looking into a mirror reflection of my own life.
Over the last several years I’ve sent an average of 170 emails per week. I receive many more multiples of that into my inbox. That’s just my Fellowship Tech account. Add to that my personal Gmail account. Then tack on my Google reader, my voicemails, and this blog. Now overlay that with my prayer life, family time and time spent making business critical decisions. My formula was also broken, just like my son’s.
I don’t believe these new communication tools are “of the devil” but Satan can use these things, just like the Easter Bunny and Santa Clause, to distract us from true meaning, from God’s purpose for our lives, keeping us from reaching our full potential.
So the reminder to myself and to you is to “keep first things first”. Take time daily in God’s Word and most importantly take some quiet time to meditate on his Word and simply “be still and know that he is God”. Do this consistently and I know your decision making and effectiveness will improve dramatically.
If you’ve struggled to find time away from the noise and found an effective way to manage it and place “first things first”, please share the secrets of your success with others by posting a comment.
God bless,
Curtis S