257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105
(262) 763-3021
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We have purchased land on Highways A & W and are planning to build soon! Drive by and take a look at our future home!
“Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!”
The Red Queen in Through the Looking-Glass
May 23rd, 2010
It was predicted back in the 1960’s that advances in technology would radically change how many hours a week people worked. They forecasted that the average American would be working 22 hours a week within 20 years. “The great challenge,” the experts said, “would be figuring out what to do with all the excess time.” Some 50 years later, after major advances in technology – how many of us are wondering what to do with all the excess time on our hands? Let’s take a group quiz to see how many of us feel that we’re being dragged through life. Fill in the blanks: I’m ready to throw in the____. I’m at the end of my ____. I’m just a bundle of ____. My life is falling ______. I’m at my wit’s ______. I feel like resigning from the human _____.
Apparently we’re all experiencing the rat race. Just when you thought you were getting ahead, along come faster rats. But remember, the only one who can win the rat race is still a rat. We need to learn how to experience rest. If all we needed was physical rest, we could take a nap. If we needed only emotional rest, we could take a vacation. But where can we find spiritual rest? How can we obtain relief regarding the deepest issues of life at the deepest level of our hearts?
When we plan out our vacation, Jane and I now have a conversation that we wouldn’t have had ten years ago, that no one would have had twenty-five years ago. The conversation is whether or not to bring a laptop. The arguments for bringing the laptop are that we can watch movies on it in the car on the drive and that we can stay connected to email and the internet. It would also be handy for me to get some work done, if we have some downtime. Since our cell phones have become “mini” computers, even that is becoming a moot point.
I love the Corona Beer commercial where the guy is sitting on the beach, skipping rocks in the surf, just doing nothing and having a wonderful time? Then, his cell phone rings, he picks it up and looks at it for a moment. He’s considering answering, but then he throws the cell phone out into the surf, skipping it across the water like just another stone. What they don't show you is him a minute later, splashing around in the water, desperately trying to find the device.
It's an all too familiar problem. We want to be connected. We sometimes need to be connected. We feel the need to be able to communicate with the people in our lives quickly, conveniently, inexpensively, and instantly. We didn't create the wireless, online, Smartphone world we inhabit, we just live here, and to live here we have to play by its rules. That means having a computer in your pocket that's exponentially more powerful than the ones that filled entire rooms a generation or two ago; or, lugging a laptop on vacation.
One organization, though, is choosing not to play by the rules of the world we inhabit. At least one day a week. The group's name is Reboot. They're devoted to reinventing the traditions and rituals of Judaism for secular Jews. Chief among those traditions and rituals is the millennia-old observance of the Sabbath, the seventh day as a day of rest. And their primary way to observe the Sabbath? That's right – turning off their cell phones, computers, and other devices. Rebooting, if you will – the devices, yes, but also hopefully their own hearts, minds, and souls. Among other things, the group suggests that people who want to “reboot” should avoid technology from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday. They should connect with loved ones, nurture their health, get outside, and avoid commerce. They also suggest lighting candles, drinking wine, eating bread, finding silence, and giving back. Interestingly, the group's primary media for getting their message out have been social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. And, yes, they recognize the irony.
I think Reboot might be on the right track. While technology can be a wonderful thing, it's hard to deny that we can become slaves to it. If we’re not careful, it starts to use us instead of the other way around. When interacting with a cell phone or a computer becomes a larger part of our lives than interacting with people, it’s a symptom that something is out of balance.
And, yes, I do see the irony in my typing these words on a computer keyboard for them to eventually be uploaded on the internet. Originally, Israel's Sabbath laws had to do with acknowledging the holiness of God by breaking the rhythm of day to day life. Once every seven days, they were required to stop the “essential” business of living – and making a living – simply because their God said they should. Sabbath was to remind them that in the end it wasn't their strength or cleverness or work ethic or technological advances that sustained their lives. It was God, and God alone.
And that's where Reboot gets it wrong. They want to reclaim Sabbath for those who are secular, but Sabbath isn't secular. The whole point of it is to disrupt the secular and give us room to come before God. Lighting candles, eating bread and drinking wine, getting outside – even connecting with loved ones and giving back – none of that will adequately fill the empty space that Sabbath creates in our calendars because none of it will fill the empty spaces in our hearts. Only God does that, and Sabbath without Him is just a day off.
So by all means, reboot. Jesus did (Luke 4:16). Turn off the devices, lock up the office, leave the errands for another day. Reconnect with loved ones – that's almost always a good thing. Serve those in need – Jesus did that, too. But do Sabbath the way Jesus did it. Be with God. Be with his people. Spend time in prayer. Or take a long, leisurely walk, talking with God as you go. Meet with the church to worship. Sing a song of praise with your kids while you wash your spouse's car. Whatever you do with your Sabbath, include God. He'll do the...rest.
