Ever since I started working at my family’s restaurant, I’ve realized something; Everyone has a need to connect. Many of us go to restaurants with people to do just that, connect with them. But more and more often as I continue to work there even more, I began to realize something that contradicts that deep need to connect; People try to find connection in the wrong places. Let me explain.
Every week I see the same things over and over again. A pair or group of people walk in and gets seated, and their first instinct is to… you guessed it, pull out their phone. What is the next thing you may ask? They would ask me for the Wifi password. Then for the next five minutes, instead of looking over the menu or engaging in conversation with the people they are with, they would scroll through their phones looking at the latest status updates or photo posts on their favourite social media website. Then when I come to ask what they would like to order, they would reply with a “Sorry, please give us another 2 minutes to decide”, because they have not even opened the menu yet. As I stand there waiting for them to make up their minds, the people still do not speak to each other, but rather they would hastily skim through the menu knowing I will be returning soon to take their order. Once I return to do just that, I would leave the table to hear silence as they continue scrolling through their phones. Here and there I would hear a little chatter between the people as they discuss what so and so said on Twitter or that funny video that they saw the day before. Then once the food comes, it is once again silent as they sip their soup and focus on filling themselves. Once they finish eating, they would once again scroll through their phones one last time before they leave the comfort of a Wifi hotspot.
Now I’m not complaining, but just painting a picture of what I see on a weekly basis. Does this sound familiar? I know that not everyone has been to that extreme of a situation, but I know that at this day in age, every one of us has experienced that in some degree, and this bothers me.
Nowadays, everyone thinks that looking through a screen opens the world to them, when in reality they are only shutting out the world around them. They feel this need to connect to every one of their 1500 friends that they forget about the ones in front of them. How ironic is it that through a sincere desire to be connected, they only end up becoming more disconnected.
Now it’s true, I feel that there is this sincere desire in everyone to have a connection to those around them. And this is a good desire, because God gave us other people to journey with us on this faith journey. However, this desire is just twisted and bent into something that no longer represents what it means to be connected, just like every other work of the devil. Yes, work of the devil. He knows that we have a desire for connection with others, so he twists it into a way that it seems like we are connecting, when it fact we are alone, just the way he wants for us to be. He doesn’t want us around other people building genuine relationships that lead to Christ. He wants us to be alone and vulnerable to his works.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not perfect, I often fail at this too. Too often I pull out my phone and look for a Wifi to connect to, or scroll through my feed when I am with another person. But I believe it is time for a change. It is time to begin building real relationships, ones that make me a better person, that ultimately lead me to Christ. I challenge you all to join me, that next time you are in the company of another person, don’ try to pull out your phones. Maybe leave it in the car (if you live is Surrey though then maybe not), or on silent in your pocket. But try and work on building your relationship with that person, because ultimately that relationship could connect you to the only real, unbroken connection; Your connection to Christ.
All the glory to God.