Ruinied by the screen. . .

I can remember before we had a TV and the first TV we had.  It was a wonderful event.  At the time, the local (75 miles away) stations were not even broadcasting 24 hours.  There was no remote control but when you get only a couple of channels why do you need a remote?  Even though the parents controlled the screen, there was always something to watch and mostly we watched together as a family.  It also conveyed some of the most profound moments of our nation's life into our home (from rocket launches to presidents assassinated, etc...).  But for most of my childhood, the TV screen was blank.  The TV was not on.  We spent time outside, we read books, we rode bikes, and we played games.  

I know that is old fashioned and seems precious in a world where everything is on the screen.  Now, my TV gets 200 channels and the remote is worn from my constant channel surfing.  Now, my life is spent partially in front of a computer screen.  Now my pocket has a screen that can do more than the computers that put us on the moon.  We all have our own screens and none of us watch together -- except when we pass the screen along for somebody to watch what we found humorous, sentimental, or shocking.  The screen is never blank and I am never too far from the ever-present screen and its internet connection.  Our lives are spent more indoors than out and time spent on the screen is mostly solitary, inside, and for entertainment.

What are the fruits of this change?  A number of fruits, poisoned fruits, are the result of our addiction to the screen.  We are consumed by the pursuit of things not boring.  We are consumed by the visual and pay less and less attention to the verbal or written word.  We are consumed by entertainment and judge everything by its entertainment value (from preaching to education and more).  We have been ruined by the screen.  The last things on earth we want to do is to turn off the screen and try and figure out what to do.  We play games, watch movies, have friendships, court, and see the doctor on the screen.  We want to go to church on the screen.  Why not?  

Screens do hot aid education or preaching or worship.  They do us many favors but they come at a cost.
  We do not recall much of what we see and hear on our screens.  Strangely enough, we remember more of boring lectures than interesting video.  Even stranger, we remember more of what bores us than what entertains us.  That alone is enough for me as a pastor to question the value screens in worship, religious education, and fellowship.  The point of these is not to know where to find this stuff but to recall it and connect the dots in our minds and hearts so that it all works together in life.

Take a test.  Whose names do you remember?  The faces and names of people who you see on a screen or the people with whom you interact in-person.  Read a sermon on paper (or from a boring screen of simply words) and watch one on video and which sermon do you recall?  We have invested too much in the poor returns that screens have -- from the public school to the church!  We have been ruined by the screens.  And so what do we turn to in our ruined state -- the screens!  The screens cannot fix the church or public education or our loneliness.  So abandon the screens for what they cannot do and do that in person and use the screens only for what they can do effectively.