Cell phone situation needs serious thought

Picture this. You are in the upper room with the rest of the disciples including Peter, James, and John and even Mary, the mother of Jesus. You are being obedient to the last command of Jesus before he ascended to the Father. You are waiting and praying. You are waiting for the fulfillment of a promise. Then, to everyone’s aghast, your cell phone rings with the “Hallelujah Chorus,” indeed appropriate music but inappropriate time. You, a transport from 2006, forgot to turn your cell phone off.

Picture this. You finally made it to the big time. All that hard work has paid off and you have a once in a lifetime experience: you are meeting the Pope. As you bow to his Holiness, your cell phone goes off with the music to “Jail House Rock.” As the Pope acts amused, you feel like crawling out of the Holy See.

Cell phones are pervasive. According to one Christian source, 57 percent of older teens (15-17) have their own personal cell phone while 32 percent of younger teens (12-14) also have exclusive use of a cell phone. And that survey was conducted a year ago. The statistics could have only gone upward.

Any phenomenon this invasive and pervasive calls for some sort of theological response. Without question even the sacred time set aside for worship is interrupted not by a crying baby and not by flying planes, but by a cell phone that goes off and immediately diverts everyone’s attention. If the minister is speaking, he may pretend not to hear, but he knows his train of thought has just been de-railed.

Right now the approach in responding to ringing cell phones at inappropriate times seems to be an “oops, I’m sorry,” and the program continues. The incident becomes just a case of forgetting to turn off the cell phone. I believe the proliferation of cell phones and their use in all places calls for serious theological thought.

The cell phone going off and answering thereupon communicate to the other person that someone or something is more important than you. The cell phone going off proves that the usher and door are poor matches to keep the worship of God from interference. Even your answering your landline for a call from a cell phone may mean your entire conversation may be recorded and played back for the whole world to hear. Advertisers now tout, “With the push of a button, you can record both sides of your cell phone conversation.”

When God instituted the seventh day of the week as a day of rest, he clearly instructed that the regular routine of life should come to a halt, that man needed to take a break, that man needed to be refreshed by turning from those things that demand his attention the rest of the week. The cell phone gives no relief. In fact, there is incentive to use it more on the weekends that include the Jewish Sabbath and the Christian’s Lord Day.

The cell phone, in ways we have yet to explore, damages the blessings of relationships. What does it say to a friend when the other’s cell phone keeps ringing and being answered? Does that not violate the admonition to give preference to one another and to honor one another? Cell phones reduce relationships to minutes and seconds. Cell phones quantify relationships.

Neither can one give his best self via a cell phone. How can you really give your best thought talking on a cell phone and ordering hamburgers through a squawk box? How can you console someone on a cell phone while making your way through the check out line at Wal-Mart?

We need some help here from the Bible to address the growing social development. It isn’t going away.