Surfing the Net

Richard Foster says that "it is a positive virtue for us to remain ignorant of much of the attention-getting, ego-driven, greed-motivated words that whiz by on the information super highway. We do so in order to be attentive to words that speak life into our souls. This, too, is discipline."

Surfing the net is becoming the pass-time activity for most people who have a computer. These days, that is a lot of us.

All these words and images are now available to us 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Millions of people (this blog included) and organizations post ga-zillions of new web pages every day and we're all consumed with roaming through these piles of information on-line.

With all this information "whizzing" past us and coming at us, it is so easy for our mental energy to be consumed by the clutter. We are conditioned to consume-consume words and images in a new way in the age of the Internet. We chew fast and swallow, so we can move on to the next tidbit of information.

We are being conditioned to "speed read". I have a book about reading faster on my desk. I bought it because I have too many things I need to read and not enough time to read them.

But, as Foster asserts, "Some words deserve sustained attention, others do not."

Now, more than ever, is it possible those who follow Christ (or desire to do so), must learn to slow down our reading when it comes to the Scripture? Absolutely.

We can't "speed read" the Bible if we truly want the Word to penetrate our souls and change our lives.

We can't read the Bible the way we zip through the Internet, but that is the way our minds are being conditioned every day.

So there are a few implications for us with regard to "how we read."

First, we need to learn how to slow down as we read the Bible. If we read for speed, we are going to miss key truths God is trying to speak into our souls. When you crack open the Scripture, intentionally slow down and resist reading for quantity.

Second, we need to read the Bible with some sense of purpose. How many times do you find yourself aimlessly surfing the net? Doing so leads to trouble, but I've found most of the time, I surf the web with a purpose. Those bookmarks I have saved? Those guide where my eyes go. We need to read the Bible with purpose. Have a plan. If you just randomly open the Scriptures you are less likely to get what you need. Study the Bible purposefully.

Finally, with all this information flying around, things can get dangerous. There is information and images online that can get us into trouble. The reality of the Internet begs for us to develop the discipline of discernment. We need good judgment. Taking the first two points above seriously will help us develop a sensitivity about which words we need to pay attention to and which ones we need to "remain ignorant of", as Foster puts it.

What words gain your attention everyday? For me its the news content out there. I'm a junky.

What words to we need to focus more on? I need to focus more time and effort on studying Scripture.

Wow! If I spent as much time in the word as I did surfing the net......