Keep Your Head Up

I recently read an article that talks about a problem that a certain city in China is experiencing:  it seems that many people there are so embedded in their cell phones that they are having problems with people getting hurt walking into each other!  Can you believe that!  People have become so distracted, and enamoured with being 'connected' at all times that they have abandoned the practical needs that are right in front of them.  In a very ironic way, they are getting what they wish for:  being 'connected' but with face-to-face encounters with people they are walking into!

It has gotten so bad that city officials have painted special lanes designated for people who want to walk and be on their smart phones at the same time.  These lanes have arrows that point which direction the 'traffic' should flow so that everyone who is in that lane won't have to worry about people walking in the other direction.

I think it would make more sense to just keep your head up--wouldn't you?

I learned that lesson pretty quick when I played hockey as a kid.  If you didn't keep your head up there was bound to be unwanted contact.

I wonder if there is a lesson here that we can learn as children of God.  I wonder if we are so distracted by our lives, our choices, our desires, that we are getting 'unwanted contact' too?  When our life circumstances become so overwhelming that we can't look up to our Father for life and refreshment, then we are living no differently than those people who are bumping into each other because they are so engrossed in their digital world.

By the way, the comparisons go even deeper.  Church generally does a good job in creating 'lanes' for this distracted way of living too.  It happens when the church forgets its real mandate of deepening relationships with each other and with God by over-programming and keeping everyone so busy there is no time left for relationships.  It misses the mark when we fall into the trap of endorsing this distracted over-burdened life by accepting that our primary function as people is to be 'producers'.  When this happens we create an environment for workaholics.  Not pretty.  And I believe there are a lot of Christians and non-Christians alike out there who are longing for something better. . .

Psalm 121 is God's clear call to all of you who are struggling with all the distractions of life that are causing you to have your head down.  He wants you to hear another message--one that brings hope through the voice of David who God had trained to live differently:

"I lift up my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from?  My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.  He will not let your foot slip--he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  The LORD watches over you--the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.  The LORD will keep you from all harm--he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."

Here is the hope that God offers to the weary traveller:  Put your trust in Him for your life.  Realize that if you would just stop trying to live with your head down and doing things in your own strength then maybe you would begin to experience freedom instead of frustration.  God is inviting all people to lift their eyes and accept what He offers--a new life and a new way of living, and to all who listen they will find themselves enjoying the protection of the Most High; they will find themselves on the receiving end of the One who desires to provide all things of great value.

And really, all you have to do is look up.

BT