Relationships at a distance

Jesus came and touched them (Matthew 17:7).

Television. Cell phones. The Internet. These three forms of technology are uniting the world, yet at the same time they are isolating us from each other. Reporters can show you live what is happening in an isolated African village. By going online, you can enter a chat room and communicate with people who live in several different countries, all at the same time. With so many people having cell phones, you don’t even need to know where somebody is in order to speak with them. Yet this technology also has a drawback—increasingly, it is replacing face-to-face contact between people.

There are many who are shy. For them, telecommunication can become a safety blanket. It is much easier to watch TV than to go out on a date. You can log on to a chat room and read what other people are saying without revealing anything about yourself, or you can assume a fake identity with no one being the wiser. Modern technology allows shy people to stay comfortably trapped in their isolation.

But it isn’t only the shy who are affected—the frantic pace of modern life is making it harder for families and friends to spend time together in the same room. Telecommunication allows parents to talk to children they never eat with, and share gossip with friends who work different shifts or have moved far away. Modern technology allows busy people to fit their relationships into their hectic schedules.

But how can this be healthy? Is text messaging really superior to a comforting hug? Don’t we demonstrate how much family and friends mean to us by arranging our schedule around them, instead of giving them a few minutes on the cell phone while we are in the supermarket? Jesus wasn’t content to just watch us from heaven—He came here to walk with us, eat with us, hold us in His arms. When He returned to His Father’s side after dying for our sins, He left us the Church—a group of people who gather in His name to support each other.

Don’t use your television or cell phone or Internet connection to satisfy your need for human contact. Use the TV for getting the news. Reserve your cell phone for emergencies. Use the Internet to do research. But make time in your schedule for the people you love. Jesus did not phone in His love for you.