I’m Addicted to Impersonal Communication

by Nicole Lynne Massie,

I’d rather text than talk and I’ll read an email faster than I’ll listen to voicemail. I send text messages while driving and I never turn off my phone. I carry my phone to meetings and when conversation hits a lull, I send text messages just to pass the time. This morning, I found myself checking my phone to see what emails I received before I had even rolled out the bed.

We’re all addicted.

The truth is, electronic addiction is a common problem for many people who use internet technology as their primary means of communication. According to a recent study by Nationwide Insurance, 1 in 5 people send text messages while driving. The percentage of users between the ages of 18-34 is even more at 1 in 3 people who will send a text while driving.  For leaders who are too busy to meet and talk with everyone, forms of communication such as internet, email, and phone technologies are the perfect solutions for getting it all done.

While these new means of communication are extremely convenient and efficient, there is certainly a cost associated with its use. Anyone who spends more time communicating through technology can relate to issues such as misperceived tone, guilt over sending hastily written messages, and even the feeling of being overworked or overwhelmed. Unlike face-to-face communication, electronic forms of communication often force us to make more assumptions about the sender’s intent, since messages must be interpreted with limited knowledge. Not to mention that an email sent at midnight could violate unspoken boundaries that a face-to-face meeting would never have the opportunity to cross. Without the accompaniment of body language and facial expressions, electronic communication leaves the door open for many misinterpretations.

What about God?

If we are not careful, we can be just as indirect and impersonal with God as we are with others. In the fast pace of life, we can find ourselves trying to multi-task our time with God as we do with others, believing that God understands in light of all that must be done. We will exchange our intimate times with God for a quick shout out and trade study and meditation for something we can grab on our way out the door. And just as our messages can be misperceived, we can misinterpret God’s voice when we don’t allow ourselves to wait and hear what He has to say.

Now more than ever, God calls out saying: “be still and know that I am God.�?nbsp; We are called not to be people of hurried agendas, but to take on stillness as a means of knowing God. Through the example of Jesus, we learn that in our stillness, God can exchange our wills for His and can transform the way we see our connections to others. In our stillness with God, we hear the desires of His heart and learn how to slow the pace of life to refocus on what’s most important.

In a world that calls us to be “on,�?let us take time to turn off. Turn off the phone to spend time in prayer. Turn off the computer to stay focused in conversation. Turn off the text in order to study the Word. Today, let us take forsake the addictive nature of impersonal communication and pursue direct and personal communion with God!

Minister Nicole Lynne Massie was born and educated in Baltimore, Maryland. She graduated magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University in May 2000 with a triple major in Human and Organizational Development, Educational Studies, and French. Upon graduation, Minister Massie became a Business Analyst for Deloitte Consulting in Chicago, Illinois. She accepted the call to ministry in November 2001 and was licensed to preach in May 2003. In May 2006, Minister Massie received her Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. She was the recipient of the Jones Prize in Music and the Swink Prize in Preaching. During her time in seminary, she served as the Director of Evangelism at St. James AME Church in Newark, New Jersey, under the pastoral leadership of Dr. William D. Watley. She has also had the privilege of serving in ministry at Mandalay Baptist Church in Cape Town, South Africa where God further confirmed her call to international ministry. Minister Massie currently serves at The Park Ministries in Charlotte, North Carolina www.upbc.org as the Minister of Young Adults and Singles. She is also the founder and Executive Director of SoulFire International Ministries, a nonprofit organization committed to empowering individuals to reach their highest potential by providing economic and educational opportunities with mentorship and support. Above all, Minister Massie has a passion for God, a contagious excitement for the Gospel, and an insatiable desire that God be glorified in her life and in the world.

As seen at http://www.futurelead.org/News_Resources/Article_Detail.cfm? articleID=45.

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