Unplugged

Last week, my cell phone was stolen from my gym locker. And to answer your question; no, I did not have a lock on it. I have since bought one. A dear friend gave me his older phone (same Blackberry I had but one generation removed). I had my phone number put in this phone but for some reason the website and social media was not working so for 3 days (until I made the time to go to a Sprint store) I was unplugged from e-mail and Facebook when I was away from my computer. My Blackberry is a smart phone so I can do a lot with it so it was weird not having it for those days. It felt kind of freeing to be unplugged.

In his book “Replenish,” Lance Witt writes how important it is to get unplugged. To set a time out of either your week or day to get away from the computer, cell phone, church office, and get alone. I thought it is easy to do; I do it at least three times a week. I leave my cell phone in the locker when I go to the gym. I do not use an I-pod or MP3 player while I run. When I run or swim it’s me time to get lost in my thoughts. We have a rule at our house that we do not answer the house or cell phone while we are eating dinner; it’s family time.

The difference that I found when I unplug willingly and when I was forced to was a sense of losing out on something; information. It was a weird feeling when I first had my smart phone turned back into a smart phone. I sat in my truck and put my Facebook account back on my phone before leaving the parking out. What’s up with that?

In our society, we want information now. Be it real news or trash about Hollywood. We’re a me now society. We think that if we unplug, we’ll loss out on something; anything. Jesus when He was here took time to be away from your disciples. It was His time to be along with his Father. When you read the gospels, He always went away to be alone just before He made big decisions; choosing His disciples, before teaching to bigger crowds, or when He decided to move on to another village. He always made time to spend time with His Father. He got direction, encouragement, and a sense of oneness with His Father.

As a Christ-follower, I am told to be like Christ. The Holy Spirit directs me and God the Father molds me to be like Christ. If Jesus Christ made time to unplug, I should do the same. And not just when I’m working out, but when I can spend real time alone with my Savior. Everything will not fall apart if I take an hour to get unplugged. It’s time to unplug.