The Israelites groaned from their bondage and cried out…
Exodus 2:23
Throughout human history, one group has tried to enslave another to produce profit. As a species, we are prone to pursue comfort and luxury even if it means the enslavement of other people. We have justified this bondage with distorted notions of racial supremacy, gender inequality or other twisted rationalities.
No one choses to become enslaved. Enslavement happens gradually. It is like the analogy of a frog who is placed in a pot of warm water. If the water is slowly heated, the frog doesn’t take notice and will not remove itself. Eventually, the frog will be boiled to death. The evil of this world often works gradually amidst confusion and chaos.
Modern bondage has taken a new form. It has been so gradual that we have not realized our enslavement. Our new bondage creates the illusion that we are free, that we have a voice and an opinion that matters. Our bondage feeds on this illusion of freedom, it feeds on our desires, our opinions, our attention, and our ability to consume. It makes us think we are in control, and as we continue to pour out our attention and our dollars, it saps us of perspective, initiative and mental health.
This new form of bondage can also be articulated using a relatively new word: addiction.
How often do you look at your iPhone? Do you choose to do so? Do you say to yourself, “Today I want to spend a total of six hours on social media.” No, most of this time and attention is taken from us because we have become enslaved to technology. We are losing control.
The worst part of this new kind of bondage is that it divides us. Media thrives on discord and fear. We are led to believe that we are on the side of the right and that everyone who disagrees with us is wrong, misguided, even evil. But it is not the people that disagree with us that are evil, it is the mechanism itself that divides us. It is mechanism that creates simplistic narratives. It is the mechanism that is profiting off our disagreement and fear. The enemy is much more subtle, much more evasive than we realize. We think we are fighting people of another political party, but the fight itself is part of our enslavement.
In the first two of the great 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, it reads
1. We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
First, we must awaken to the reality that we are enslaved and that continuing to argue and make statements on social media will get us nowhere. It only feeds the beast. The solving of issues takes time, courage and consensus.
Second, we must put our trust in a Power greater than ourselves, the One who so long ago vowed to set us free from bondage. This One is named by many faiths in many ways. For me, it is God and Jesus. Through the practices of my ancient faith tradition, I can be set free, but it is a process that takes discipline, trust and a community that loves me unconditionally. There is no quick fix to this kind of addiction. It is a way of life. That is why the early Christians called themselves People of the Way.
The journey to freedom begins with a simple step. It begins with a recognition of the truth: that we have become enslaved to technology and that we need God’s help to find liberation once more.
Your words are so impactful and really hits home for me. I find myself exhausted from technology so often. It happens so gradually that you do not fully understand until you look back and see the changes in yourself. It is difficult to break yourself from the habit in a world that is driven by new technology everyday. I am trying to focus and devote more of my time on God and my life in Christ. I have to remind myself that it is journey and know that my strength / power comes from Heavenly Father.
Frank