There are apps for ordering food, parking a car, paying bills, making appointments, getting tickets, communicating with businesses—and sometimes even figuring out how to use the app requires another set of instructions.
Are all these choices and conveniences actually making everyday life easier?
Or are there things that used to be simpler when you could just call someone, walk up to a counter, or talk to a real person?
You know, I was coming into the church building the other day, and there was my Son and his friend sitting on the floor of the lobby, and they were actually texting each other. Now I really want you to understand what I mean. Here is my son and his friend, sitting on the floor, side by side, next to each other, texting each other. What?
We have come into this era of convenience and comfort. Technology is just one little piece of this. It makes our lives so easy that we start losing stuff along the way. Money is another. Especially in our country. We are the richest people to ever walk the earth. Even our poor are rich. AC, self-driving cars, smartphones, and even smart houses. The problem is, sometimes, the smarter our technology gets, the dumber we get. As COVID showed us, we can even work, go to school, and even go to church in our pajamas, never leaving the house.
Seeking “ease” can lead to spiritual apathy. The biblical response suggests that comfort and pleasure are best experienced as byproducts of a life lived in alignment with God, rather than ends in themselves. As Psalm 16:11 states this,
"You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
When comfort and pleasure become idols, it usually means we’ve prioritized our ease and safety over our obedience or growth. The Bible defines idolatry as anything that takes God’s place in our hearts. When we are more afraid of losing our “comfort zone” than of missing God’s calling, comfort has become a master.
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Matthew 6:24
If we only follow God when it is convenient or comfortable, we are not truly serving Him; we are serving our own convenience.
Be Blessed, be a blessing, and Jesus is LORD!
Peter