Digging Deeper: Reading, Thinking, and Talking

A quarter of the 21st century is already gone. It has been an amazing 25 years, considering the technological leaps made during this time. I was still on dial-up internet in 2000. Now we have smartphones that aid us in almost every area of daily life. I have AirTags that help me find my keys and my wallet.  But are these advancements allowing us to be smarter? They can make us more efficient, but are they helping us build reasoning and cognitive abilities? 

Author and Podcaster Cal Newport has written about the many dangers of our modern technology. In a recent podcast, he explored this question: Are we getting smarter? He cited a study that, since World War II, the overall average IQ has generally improved every decade. However, most of the IQ markers had dropped in a recent survey. What was the cause of this drop? Cal Newport asserts that we have stopped reading and thinking and replaced them with soundbites, snippets, and taglines. This is an important consideration. We have stopped being a culture of deep reading. He is on to something here. 

Another factor is that we have stopped being a thinking society. When do we have time to think? We are bombarded with noise, images, and constant simulations. I was in the hospital waiting room last week, with a loud television blaring. Many restaurants have music playing loudly in the background. Our smartphones provide us with unending choices of entertainment and information. We put on our headphones or AirPods and tune out the world. We are also tuning out our thoughts. We are constantly bombarded with information, but have little time to process it. 

Recently, I spoke with a ministry leader, and they were lamenting that they could no longer get parents to work with their kids to learn the catechism. What had been an excellent program a decade ago, with 40-50 kids a year participating, had dried up. The reason is that parents say they do not have the time to work with their kids. I fear that this means few conversations about Christ exist in many Christian homes. 

With this in mind, I want to put forth some challenges for you to consider: 

1. Are you reading a book? When was the last time you read a book cover to cover? Being a reader is crucial to being a thinker. In books, you must follow in-depth stories or arguments. The authors must make articulated cases to support their case. Like the body, the mind must be exercised, and reading is one of the best and most fundamental ways the mind can be stretched and expanded. 
2. Do you have quiet time in your life? Where do you have time just to allow your mind to think? We have more information than we can ever process. But are we taking the time to process any of it beyond a cursory examination? In his book on prayer, Dr. Douglas Kelly lists a 45-minute guide to prayer. In this guide, there are times he recommends that you sit quietly. Too often, we just run through our prayer lists at breakneck speed to get to the next task of the day. We must have time to reflect on life and let God work in our hearts.  
3. Where are you talking to people? Who do you have in your life that you can have deep conversations with, and are you having those conversations? Parents, try to make time for this with your kids. It is never too early to start having serious discussions about life and faith with your children. Part of the way we learn is through interacting with others in the context of deeper thinking and the reading we have done. We have, as a society, lost the family table. Families often do not eat at a table, but around the TV or in different spots and at various times. We have lost much of the time to hang out with friends and talk about life. Gone are the previous generation's deeper conversations or even detailed letters, as they have been replaced with text messages and social media posts. You need to have people in your life with whom you are discussing the deeper things of faith and life. 

Why does this matter to the church? Because we are called to be a reading, a thinking, and a talking people. We must read the scriptures and know what they say. We need to be people who know the confessions of the church and the basic theological concepts that the church holds. We need to see this information. However, we also need to have thought through what the Bible teaches and the church's theological confession. We also need to discuss these things with others to challenge and refine our thinking.  Is this not the basis for Christian Fellowship, discussing the Word of God and how it applies to our lives? Is this not how we are iron sharpening iron (Proverbs 27:17)

Christians, take a hard look at our lives, especially our use of technology. It is a blessing in so many ways, but are we losing something as well? Consider the three challenges I have put before you and evaluate your life. Are you reading, especially the Bible and books that help you grow spiritually? Are you taking time to think about God, His Word, and how it all applies to your life? Finally, are you engaging others in discussing life's more profound questions? The world we live in pushes us away from these things. You must be intentional in reading, thinking, and discussing .