Influence?

Psalm 16:¹¹ “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.”

Presence influences happiness. How come nobody wants to be ignored? Presence with someone who cares about you makes the experience delightful. We have heard that women love attention. The truth is that men also love attention, in fact, every human being loves attention. And God is saying when you give attention to the people in your life, to the people you are doing life with, you influence their happiness. That is so powerful. So, listening to a friend means distributing or increasing their happiness. It also communicates to the person that he or she is valuable and what he or she is saying is important.

God demonstrates this to us in John 1:¹⁴ “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” Jesus did not come to visit, Jesus came to inhabit, He came to dwell with us. He came so that He can be present, to make His home among us. God wants to be present in your life, God does not just want to be someone that shows up on Sundays alone. God wants to be present in your life when you wake up, He wants you to know He is there, He wants to be present. When you are asleep, He wants you to know He is there. When you are driving, He wants you to know He is there. God wants to be present. However, because of the challenge of the culture and the times we are in, technology has eroded a lot of relationships.

People cannot really be present because of technology. Do not get me wrong, technology is good. I am a techy person, I love technology, I deploy technology. That is my vocation. But it can be a big challenge in our relationships with fellow human beings and with God. Psychologists have coined a word for it called ‘Technoference’. The American Psychological Association defines technoference as the interference of technology in relationships. Technology takes presence away from us. An example of technoference is: husband and wife in the bedroom, both focused on their tablets instead of each other. It gets so bad that sometimes couples turn their backs to each other and focus on their devices when they should be focused on each other.

What can be wrong with technology being in the room? It is simple, technology takes your presence, your attention away from the person that deserves it the most. Why should you be browsing on the phone when you should be browsing somewhere else? It is a big challenge. Personally, at bedtime, my devices stay outside my room. The world will survive without you for a few hours. Do not worry, you will be back to solving world problems in the morning.

Prayer: Father, I thank You for showing me the way of life and granting me the joy of Your presence, such that my presence also brings joy to others, in Jesus Name. Amen!