I decided to do a new post on this matter.
I watched a newsmagazine show the other night where the reporter did a segment with children from about 5-8 years old. She asked them how they felt when their parents were so engaged with cell phone usage. All of the children were displeased with how their parents catered to cell phone usage. One little girl stated that she felt that her parent cared more for cell phone conversations than she did about her.
To observe the reactions of the children, the reporter had made prior arrangement for someone to call her (the reporter's) cell phone while she was interviewing the children. Immediately, the children reacted with displeasure. When the reporter answered the phone...the children responded with groans, sighs, and vocal displeasure expressed with body language that was indicative of exasperation. The reporter got off the phone and asked the children how it made them feel when she was engaged on the cell phone in their presence. I do not remember what their responses were but I do recall that the children expressed to her that they did not like it. The parents were observing from another room. One parent stated that she would engage in cell phone usage less in the presence of her child.
I was at a church once at a Bible study and the pastor's wife, from the podium area, stated that she kept her cell phone on vibrate mode in case of emergency. My thought was what did we do back in the days prior to cell phones, when we were in church services, and there were emergencies?
I attended Sunday school in one church when it was time for the teacher to teach. She stood at the podium to begin. Her cell rang and she answered it.
My opinion is that our Lord is not pleased when we use cell phones in His sanctuaries. Now if someone is an on-call doctor...that is understandable. It is, in my view, a lack of holy reference for GOD to engage cell phones in church services. I am not even about the vibrate arrangement. I turn my cell phone off before I enter churches. Once or twice, I forgot to do so, and I felt horrible. Those times that I forgot, when it did ring, I did not look to see who it was or answer it. I immediately turned it off.
Two Christian dinner guests were at my home. One of them engaged a number of times on her cell phone while we were engaged in dinner and fellowshipping. After several of her phone conversations, I mentioned to her that that was rude. She disagreed.
One of my relatives mentioned that she and her husband transported a married couple for a long distance ride for Thanksgiving. The husband, they stated, was on his cell phone for most of the ride.
Cell phones again...
ReplyDeleteI haven't read your previous post yet on cell phones, but I'm in agreement with this post though I've been found guilty on Wednesdays when I keep it with me on vibrate. I have the tendency to do a lot of fellowshipping after Bible study and completely forget about my business conference call. Even the vibrate doesn't help when I'm in ministry of fellowship.
ReplyDeleteWe've become chained to the cell phone and I believe it's yet again another ploy of Satan to keep us distracted. As with many things that were created for good, Satan finds a way to pollute them and create bondage to them. I see teenagers texting in church all the time, but if the adults aren't setting the example around them, how can we blame the kids?
Certainly there needs to be more teaching about it in the church. The schools don't tolerate it!
cell phones can becomes idols to us. i am guilty of making one an idol in the past. thanks for posting this, a good reminder.
ReplyDeleteI really don't have a problem with people calling me when I'm at church, or when I'm in class at school, because they know where I am, and do not call me unless it's a real emergency, I do keep my phone on vibrate, because I have had some emergencies. I know, it used to be different, people used to have to wait until you were home to answer the phone, and if there was an emergency, it used to have to wait until they could somehow get a hold of you at home... It's nice to have the phone so people don't have to wait. If something happens to someone in my family, I would like to know, and not 6 hours after...
ReplyDeleteI do agree that when you are in church, you shouldn't use your phone, and I don't answer. I listen to the message directly after service.
The cell phone, like anything else can become an idol, if you let it. I do agree with that, and we should be wise users of our cell phones, computers, other electronics, our cars, etc... Anything including money can become an idol. We need to use discretion in the use of anything...
Timothy -
ReplyDeletePlease weigh in on this.
We are so caught up with sensory overload with our gadgets that we don't stop to do validity checking or priority checking.
ReplyDeleteTabloids like the National Enquirer put out predictions and bogus articles, knowing people will keep the initial impression and not do any fact checking. Go find a year-old National Enquirer and see how little was true.
Likewise, facebook, myspace, twitter, etc. leave us with initial impressions and not thought. We only have time to react. I remember the joke where one fellow was telling another to get some sleep and the other fellow said, "but someone on the internet is Wrong!"
That's why I prefer forums like this. You can wait until you have time to answer. I can take time to formulate an intelligent answer. You can come back to read possible responses when you have time.
Almost all of my phone usage is to coordinate things with my wife when one of us is out. Since she is with me in church, I never get calls there.