Lent: Disconnecting in a connected world

I’ll be the first to admit it I like my iPhone. I have it with me everywhere I go and I am accessible nearly 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

There are times when I receive a call, a text or an e-mail that I choose not to respond to immediately because I am in the middle of family time, dinner or even a movie. But more often than not, I at least check it and usually respond.

This is the world we live in, a world of fast paced interconnectedness. If something happens on the other side of the world, within minutes our 24/7 news channels are reporting it.

It’s easy to place blame on the attention-seeking culture or the ever present news media or even our success driven society, but that is a bit unfair.

I am not saying that technology is bad, on the contrary, technology is wonderful and in some cases downright essential. But as with all things, there are limits, there are times of disconnecting.

When I worked for a hospice organization in Kentucky, I learned this lesson the hard way. I was constantly bringing work home, working past my contract which stated 5 p.m. as the end of the work day.

It was affecting my marriage, my health and my important family time. I had to shift my priorities around for the betterment of my family and life.

This is what Lent calls us to do, to disconnect from the world and return to a place where God dwells. Lent is the holy time leading up to Easter where we journey with Christ on the road to Jerusalem.

Followers of Christ are called to disconnect from the world around them and focus their attention on Christ. Whether it is through prayer, daily devotion or giving up something, the fact remains that our attention shifts from the world outside to the world of Christ. This is the essence of Lent.