iPod, iListen, iBlock Out

Tonight I headed across campus to return a book to the library. I climbed down 2 or 3 steps in the dorm, and I realized that I had forgotten to grab my iPod. Typically I either listen to music when I'm walking around campus or I hang out with someone. I usually listen to music that reflects what I am feeling in the moment or music that reflects what I should be feeling in a moment. Sometimes I will replay songs from chapel. Sometimes I play songs that just make me happy. This piece of technology brings great joy in my life. It gives me access to thousands of songs instantly. With it, I can listen to the sermons of favorite preachers. I learn about screenwriting from podcasts, and I carry around pictures of my dear family. I can watch movies, TV shows, and SNL skits. The opportunities are endless.

Mom always talks about what she will say when her grandchildren come to her and ask her what the most significant invention in her life was. She plans to say the cell phone. I (at this stage in my life) would have to say the MP3 player (but... specifically the iPod). This piece of technology changed my life. It changed the lives of an entire generation. I am ever grateful.

It reminded me of the sermon that Rob Bell preached when we visited Mars Hill. He talked about how technology separates us from God. He suggested that one of the first pieces of technology, the brick, led to a great divide between mankind and God. The brick led to the tower of Babel. Even though I use my iPod in worship daily, could it be a hindrance to my connectedness to the Lord? Rob talked about how by being able to buy a red tomato in Grand Rapids in January, we are separated from the provision of the Creator. Am I missing something by not hearing these songs live? Am I missing the noise of creation? Am I falsifying the soundtrack of my life? Am I infusing a moment with something that shouldn't be there? Are there other pieces of technology in our lives that somehow hinder our relationship with the Lord? Are you missing something organic and simple because you are loading up the backpack of your life with extra junk?

Soundtrack: From Where I'm Standing, Schuyler Fisk