God put human beings on planet earth to be His Garden Keepers and image bearers. That’s our purpose. Yet, more than ever, our world looks like a garden of glass screens and machines. How will we fulfill our purpose in the 22nd century when society is daily interacting with robots and A.I.?

People are going to have different tolerances for the level of technological integration, just like some plants love shade and some love sunlight. Some people will want driverless cars or health-monitoring Smart Watches. Other people like being independent and off-grid. Hopefully, the following considerations will continue to help you figure out the appropriate balance between "technology" and "nature."

1. Continue to practice sabbath-keeping.

On the Sabbath, we practice "ceasing."

“For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:11).

We are not filling the Sabbath with the noise of culture, screens, chores, shopping, traveling, or bustle. No tech or low-tech is integral to protecting this holy time. On the day of rest, we are relearning to be still and know that He is God. We have conversations with our family members. Take naps. Go for walks. Play games. Read. Read the Bible. And meditate. It’s a dopamine detox. We are relearning how to live in the quietness of God’s world without man’s industrial efforts.

Sabbath is a sanctuary of time. It is one day out of seven, stationed like a fortress against the driving rain of human progress. We are to cease from our labor and mechanizing industry in the world and return to simplicity and nature. Sabbath teaches us to cease from our mastery and relearn to be children in God’s house again. Our souls are more valuable and lasting than the technology we’ve surrounded ourselves with. So take time to nurture your soul. Enjoy. Receive. Worship. Participate in the banquet of spirituality and relationship that He spreads for us.

Keeping the Sabbath is a practice. Our culture is not great at it. It will take practice to perfect it. It is not a personal vacation. It is a holy time spent with the Lord in our family and worshipping community. I’ve been practicing sabbath-keeping for fifteen years. There’s still plenty of room for improvement, but I promise you, it’s my most cherished time of the week that I get to spend with God, my family, and the natural world around me.

2. Technology is an accelerant; we need to practice slowing.

Screens and socials have contributed to anxiety, ADHD, and the dopamine endemic in society. Read " The Anxious Generous by Jonathan Haidt. People are frantic. Just drive on Route 222. People are nuts-o. And when you offramp from the digital light-rails at warp speed, suddenly everything feels sloooowwww and booooorrrring. You can actually hear your heartbeat. And the wind in the trees. And we’re bored because we’re so accustomed to going so fast.

Warp speed and digital space can be a blessing. We build faster, travel farther, and communicate instantaneously. Yet, the Bible speaks a lot about meditation, “slowing,” and acquiring a life of wisdom through reflection and consideration. Jesus warned that “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful” (Mark 4:19). Jesus spoke of “abiding” in the vine (John 15). To "abide," we need to regularly practice slowing down to the pace of sap in the tree, to our Heavenly Father’s vascular system. Love isn't fast; it’s slow and deep. “Love one another deeply, from the heart” (1 Peter 1:22). How do we continue to practice slowing down to love deeply in the 22^nd century?

3. Technology is invasive; we need to practice boundaries.

As we set boundaries for ourselves and our children, the deeper question is this: What is captivating my attention? My time is limited. Am I pursuing a life of wisdom, worship, truth, and beauty? Or do the fantasies of the flesh carry me away, the “need to know,” or the buzz of culture? Where is my heart? God wants to captivate our attention and send us on His adventures. He doesn’t want to compete with our screens. “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple” (Psalm 27:4). We need cold storage and kill switches for our digital spaces.  

Here are a few examples of boundaries different families have created. Some people shut off tech after 9 P.M. or set 1-hour limits for their children. Some don’t allow social media. Others will have a family values conversation after watching a movie. No phones during dinner. No screens in bedrooms or bathrooms. Kids aren’t allowed to watch anything without permission. Or, no screens until Friday. Here’s a previous article we’ve written that may provide additional help: Navigating Digital Boundaries With Your Children. The point is, we need boundaries and dikes against the swelling tide of screen time and media consumption in the home.

4. Technology can contaminate; we need to make healthy choices.

Throughout the book of Leviticus, the Lord was teaching the Israelites how to make healthy choices. He wanted them to learn to make "distinctions": what is healthy to ingest and what is not? "Distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean,” He says in (10:10). God wants us to grow up and become like Him.

“I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean… I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy” (11:44-45).

Through YouTube, media, and now A.I. we ingest a smorgasbord of ideas, values, and beliefs that are controversial, edifying, and destructive. The world and all its wares are in your pocket. It's important that we ourselves learn to distinguish between what is healthy, wise, and true, and that we train our children to have healthy appetites and healthy boundaries with their tech and media consumption.

Previously, we said quantity is a consideration. Now we're saying quality is a consideration. To nurture your soul, you need time spent meditating on God-things and not on screens. When Paul tells the Roman Church to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” he finishes by saying, “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” The goal is that we grow in maturity to "test and approve" the things God loves.

Conclusion:

We don’t need to fear technology or media. But we do need to be wise and mature about how we allow it to shape our lives. Sabbathing, meditating, boundary-making, and discretion are all skills that will help us pursue the Lord in the midst of our glass screen garden.

Tags: family, media, technology, spirituality, sabbath, relationships, choices, practice, slowing, spiritual discipline, screens