After several minutes of examining butterflies with a gigantic magnifying glass, I sat down on a bench next to a fantastic specimen with gorgeous white wings. I looked at her for a minute and then . . . I checked my email!

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10 comments

Erin Davis

In the Butterfly Palace

Posted on 01.12.12 by Erin Davis | Twitter: @ErinGraffiti

Here’s the background information you need to know—I adore butterflies. For as long as I can remember God has used the delicate wings and brightly colored pigments of butterflies to woo my heart to His. That’s why when my husband surprised me with a trip to a butterfly house near our home, I was near giddy.

After several minutes of examining butterflies with a gigantic magnifying glass and talking to my children about God’s ability to create, I sat down on a bench next to a fantastic specimen with gorgeous white wings. I looked at her for a minute and then . . . I checked my email!

Here I was surrounded by one of my favorite parts of God’s creation. It was a rare opportunity to sit in relative silence and take a break from the noise of my busy world and the pull of my computer screen. Yet, I chose instead to fix my eyes on junk mail and Twitter feeds.

What is wrong with me! Why am I so willing to exchange connection with the natural world, human relationships, and a living God for the “unnatural” realm of technology? 

I probably wouldn’t have given it a second thought if I hadn’t just read this thought-provoking post (on breastfeeding, of all things) by one of my favorite bloggers, Tim Challies. He writes, “Satan hates what is natural and good; he loves what is unnatural and evil.”

It’s a good reminder that this love affair I am having with anything with an on/off switch has spiritual implications. I’m not saying, necessarily, that Satan is the force behind all of our iStuff, but I do think it is wise to remind ourselves now and then how much the Enemy desires to fix our eyes on anything other than God’s work in the world around us and in our individual lives.

It’s crazy, but I would almost rather play with an app about butterflies then sit still, be quiet, and look at an actual butterfly doing what God made it to do. That moment in the Butterfly Palace was just the wake-up call I needed to realize that when it come to my technology, all too often I exchange the natural for the unnatural. The result is that I develop artificial feelings of well-being, attachment, and wholeness that are cheap substitutes for the real thing that can only be gleaned from my living God. Technology isn’t a bad thing, but more often that not, it is simply giving us the illusion of connection, experience, and growth, and the whole time we think we are sampling the real thing.

I know we don’t need one more reason to feel guilty about our technology. We know it hurts our eyes and shortens our attention spans and causes us to gain weight around our mid-section. But maybe the secret to taming our technology isn’t in developing a new set of rules or in separating “good” technology from the “bad” stuff. Perhaps the better lesson is the realization that anything on your screen is a just a substitute for the real thing. Go ahead, use your technology to enhance your life and work in practical ways, but as you do ask yourself, “am I exchanging the natural for the unnatural here?” Does my technology usage do damage to my connection with my living God, human relationships, and appreciation for all God has made?

Go ahead, ask yourself these hard questions and then, put the iPhone down. Walk away. And chase a butterfly.

Comments

  1. Thank you! You are so right. I went on a vacation last summer where there was no Internet or cell phone connection. Everyone seems to think I enjoyed it because it kept my kids totally "with us.". But I think i enjoyed it most because it kept ME where I needed to be. I also don't really see how young people, who communicate with every friend they ever had - how does this work out in marriage? I would have serious jealousy/trust issues, I think, if my husband had a whole life and network of friends I didn't know anything about?? I just watch my adult kids, who are stil single, and wonder how all this will play out..
    Www.prayathomemom.blogspot.com
    posted by Peggy
    on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 7:41 am
  2. I agree with Peggy's comment....that's part of the reason that my husband and I made a hard choice not to have Facebook accounts.
    What a wonderful post. Thanks for sharing.
    posted by Brook L.
    on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 8:39 am
  3. Thank you for your thoughts! It is so true that we need stillness and pondering the beauty of His wonderful creation.

    One thing that has helped me a lot in making decisions in the electronic world is asking, "Will this hinder my relationship with Jesus or draw me closer to Him"? Also, allowing Him to be Lord of this area, He knows what is the very best for me, I don't. It is still a very strong pull for me many times and I need continual work in my heart!
    posted by Elizabeth J.
    on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 9:45 am
  4. Powerful and encouraging post. This affirms my husband and I's choice to stay away from obtaining cell phones and Facebook/Twitter accounts. Neither are absolutely necessary at this time in our lives. We're in front of our computer screen enough in a day's time...and at times to the detriment of our school-aged daughters. Thank you for being authentic....and saying HARD things to read/hear.
    posted by JC
    on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 10:26 am
  5. All I can say is "Ouch". I thank the Lord for this post, even though it is painful. I needed to "hear" this.
    posted by KF
    on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 12:11 pm
  6. This post is very timely. (Thank you Lord!) Just this morning God was really pointing out the grip the computer has on me. Very convicting, and challenging post! Technology really has a strong hold on me unless I daily, and intentionally choose to follow God with it. Thank you for sharing what God is teaching you!
    posted by Emily
    on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 12:40 pm
  7. Thank you for your honesty. I think it isn't always a technology problem, at least not for me. I think it is a busyness problem. We are so busy as women that when we sit still for very long, we can feel guilty, just knowing there is something else that probably needs our attention. I have a real problem following Mary and just sitting at the feet of Jesus, whether in a butterfly house, the Grand Canyon, or in my own devotions. Thanks again for the insight.
    posted by Sharon
    on Friday, January 13, 2012 at 6:53 pm
  8. Providentially I just read this article before my husband and I are getting to leave to visit Butterfly World here in South Florida. I know I have to turn off the technology as we drive and watch the beautiful scenery around us. I caught myself watching the GPS rather the the reality of the road around me.
    posted by Susan
    on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 2:00 pm
  9. So true. I might even get my house cleaned if I could cut off the tablet and shut off facebook.
    posted by Jodi C.
    on Monday, January 16, 2012 at 1:04 pm
  10. Butterfly app - what for? There are usually signs everywhere inside a butterfly house with pictures and names on them.
    posted by Bonnie
    on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 3:26 pm

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