Are you “talking” with your thumbs more than you are with your mouth? It used to be if you wanted to “chat” with someone it meant you were seeking to speak with them in conversation, one on one. Now a days the word “chat” has taken on a whole new meaning. We have Chatbot, ChatGPT, we think of a chat in terms of texting. We chat and communicate with our thumbs instead of our mouths.

I spent several hours today transitioning to a new phone service and porting over my existing number. The entire process was done via text chats. I started the transaction by being introduced to a “text assistant”. At one point communicating with the text assistant became so confusing that I asked if I could “chat”, talk that is with a real person. I did end up with a real person, but you won’t believe it, instead of being transferred to a person on a phone line, the transition went from a chat assistant to an actual person texting with me. But we never spoke!

Today employees are fired from jobs by text. Couples breakup, or even start dating via text. We buy and sell without any human interaction. There may be a level of convenience shopping on- line and ordering from Amazon having fashion, food, and furniture delivered to your front door without ever interacting with a human being, but it is calloused, impersonal, and cold.

We supposedly carry on “conversations” and relationships via Facebook, X, Tik Tok and other social media platforms without ever meeting, or truly “chatting.”  Couples go out on dates; friends meet for dinner and spend more time checking their devices than they do getting to know one another and enjoying one another’s company.

We are losing the art of conversation and cultivating meaningful relationships and as a result are growing increasingly distant which is leading to isolation. I think it’s time to stop talking with our thumbs so much and start engaging with family, friends, and fellow human beings with our voices through personal interaction and touch.  I’m surprised we haven’t relegated evangelism to a chatbot or texting.  “Wanna get saved or know God better?”, text this number now and a chatbot will walk you through the Gospel and even ask you if you are ready to ask Jesus into your heart.  Really!?

 In my 5-year journey toward greater rest and life balance I have certainly come to appreciate times of silence and solitude, but we weren’t designed to live in isolation. We were created for community and to engage in vital relationships. Give your thumbs a rest and cultivate real live relationships, Face to Face (no book). This was where I was going to end this post.

However, literally as I typed these last words, I received a text. Ironic, isn’t it? It was a message from a friend who sent a photo of a poster found in a church in France. It said, “When you enter this church it may be possible that you hear “the call of God”.  However, it is unlikely that He will call you on your mobile. Thank you for turning off your phones. If you want to talk to God, enter, choose a quiet place and talk to Him.  If you want to see Him, send Him a text while driving. 🙂   (mic drop!)

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