One of my very favorite people once suggested this for a bumper sticker, "Not going to church? How’s that working for you? Well, I have a similar question to ask, "Do you communicate primarily by text or email?" How’s that working for you?

The other day I called one of the guys who I play tennis with to ask if he was able to play at our regular game. He said he was going to be out of town but not to worry because he had already called and asked another friend to find a substitute for him. The trouble was he had called but he had not talked to the friend he had only left a message. The friend didn’t get the message until the morning of the match so we wound up with three players, which is way less than ideal for doubles! It happened again the next week. We were doing something special in worship. I was told that everyone knew. Well everyone had been emailed and/or sent a text but guess what one person never got either. I am often told that we don’t need to have meetings we can just do everything by email. I remain skeptical about that suggestion!

Now, granted I am somewhat of a curmudgeon but I think that in the interest of time and "efficiency" we have somehow overlooked the value of the good old face to face. I think that technology has not only increased communication it has also increased miscommunication. Someone told me about a New Yorker cartoon that showed a husband and wife sitting across the breakfast table "texting" each other! Is this what our intimate conversations have turned into?

I never write anything by hand anymore—everything I write is on a keyboard. As a result my already poor penmanship has gotten even worse. If we never have the occasion to talk face to face will we also become less able to communicate in this way? What toll is that taking on marriages and what about the relationship of parents and their children?

Send your wife flowers, send her a text, send her an email but remember what still counts the most is looking her right in the eye and telling her you love her. Oh yes, and when we pray, we would do well to look right into God’s face, the one we know because of Jesus and tell him how much you love him too. Don’t bother to text or email my understanding is that God doesn’t have a computer or a smart phone! God prefers direct communication after all that is why he sent Jesus!

John