If ever there has been a religion that has called people to use their minds, it is the Christian faith. If ever there has been a religion that has emphasized the importance of teaching, it is the Christian faith. If we are to live with virtue in this digital age, we need to recognize that we are engaged in a battle, at war with distraction. We must learn to discover what distracts us, destroy it, cultivate concentration, and seek out solitude regularly and habitually.

We need to be Christians who take time to give sustained focus to one thing -- the worship of the living God. He does not call us to study His Word or to worship Him more efficiently. God calls us to read His world meditatively, to give it the time and attention it needs -- the attention we need -- if the Word is to pierce 'to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart' (Hebrews 4:12).

As our technologies promote speed and capacity, the ability to do more in less time, they may promote a new form of idolatry. They push us to make productivity and efficiency ends in themselves, idols we worship and serve. We elevate efficiency -- the need to get many things done, and to get them done quickly -- to the realm of the ultimate. We willingly sacrifice quality, relationships, and our devotion to those we love in order to fill this twisted mandate.

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True virtue is found not by getting a task finished quickly but by getting it done and doing it well.

We need to relearn how to think, and we need to discipline ourselves to think deeply, conquering the distractions in our lives so that we can live deeply. We must rediscover how to be truly thoughtful Christians, as we seek to live with virtue in the aftermath of the digital explosion.

In all the ways we communicate today, we may use our technologies to destroy relationship instead of foster it, to tear down instead of build up. If we are to use them well, we must use them deliberately, thoughtfully, and in a distinctly Christian way.

Words are powerful. In fact, it was words that brought the universe into being, and it is the Word who now brings life to the dead heart. Words accomplish; words carry weight; words have meaning; words lift up and words beat down. They bring life and they bring death. 

Could we with ink the ocean fill;
And were the skies of parchment made.
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky. (Frederick Lehman)

Today he might forgo the parchment and quills to remind us that even if every man were to e-mail and blog and text for all time, we would never tire of communicating about this amazing love. A trillion text messages a year would only scratch the surface.

God's Word teaches us a key principle that underlies our ability to communicate: The tongue is connected to the heart. The words that come out of a person's mouth or are typed on his keypad and texted to a friend are an expression of what is in his heart.

'When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.' (Proverbs 10:19) If such a warning was important in the days of Solomon, how much more is it needed in our day of near-constant communication?

Use of Words

When our words (written or spoken) serve an idol, they try to distract us from what matters most. They encourage us to focus on quantity over quality. Our communication begins to lack substance and the constant flow of words keeps us from focusing our hearts and minds on the truth... But when our words serve God, they draw our hearts to the things that are of greatest importance. Such words are full of meaning and life. They call us out of the shallows and into the depths of knowing God. Our technological advances in communication provide us with opportunities to use words in ways that will honor God, thoughtful words that speak with substance and truth and give life to people made in God's image.

Learning through images and visual media is directly opposed to learning by reading, which requires a more sustained focus and actually generates new skills and capabilities in the brain.

Our task... is not to avoid technology but to carefully evaluate it, redeem it, and ensure that we are using it with the right motives and for the right goals.