These are thoughtful words from Pastor John Piper (Below). The subject of Piper’s talk reminded me of a paragraph I read recently in David Wells’ book, God in the Whirlwind: How the Holy-Love of God Reorients our World. He writes about the danger of the endless distractions of technology. If we are not careful, these distractions will hinder our pursuit of God. (Isn’t it ironic that I share these thoughts with you through a blog post requiring the technology of the internet!) Here is what Wells says:
Recognizing this danger, we need to carve out space for ourselves in which we can daily attend to God’s Word, to study it, mark it, learn it, and inwardly digest its truth. This truth must shape our whole understanding of life as we recognize from whom this truth comes and why God has thus given it to us. This must take precedence. It must take precedence even at the cost of phones, e-mails, the Internet, texts, TV, Facebook, music, and all of the other ways that our technology wires us into a major competitor for our time and attention. Innocent though these things may be, they stand in the way of knowing God if they steal from us the time that we need for that pursuit . . . . Let us make no mistake about this. If we do not do this aright, if we are not daily seeking God’s face, if we are not pondering the truth he has given us in his Word, if we are not daily being nourished in our souls by it, and if we are not daily repenting of our sin where we need to, our faith will wither and our walk with God will disappear. (185–186).