Choose the Person
Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that the world is advancing technologically at a rapid rate. Technology is good, and the advances that have come out of it are indeed good and I personally benefit greatly from many of them. God bless them.
With the increase of technological advances, there seems to be in tandem a decrease of human activity or interaction. We know this, and we are seeing it more and more. We are hearing more regularly now that despite all our social media connection and online “friends,” we as a culture are witnessing increasing levels of loneliness and depression.
Another thing I’m noticing coincide with our technological advances is that we are seeing more automated processes with computers in place of people. We have all experienced the strained attempts at calling a customer service department (for whatever reason) that generally end up in getting transferred by an automated assistant. These experiences aren’t generally very fruitful and by the end of them, we’re frustrated and are left with the issue we started with.
Calling customer service departments isn’t the only thing that is automated. You can make bank deposits, check out your own groceries, shop online, pay for gas, and more, all without ever having any real interaction where you’re face-to-face with another human being. We call it “convenience” and “efficiency,” but I find myself arriving at a conclusion: so what?
Humans are good. In fact, people are very good. St Paul refers to Christians forming the mystical Body of Christ (cf Eph 4:4-13). If then, we represent the mystical body, ought not we desire unity with our own self/body? Let us make the effort then to be with other people, and intentionally cross paths with people who might not even be a part of the mystical body. By our willingness to cross paths with others, we come bearing the Light of Christ to them to bring hope and the love of Christ in their lives.
The person-to-person contact is more important nowadays as we are slowly drifting away in the name of social media with our online “friends” and “communities.” At times, a simple conversation with charity and love can ignite someone’s heart on their quest for God. St. Augustine says, “our hearts are restless or Lord, until they rest in Thee.” Sometimes our interaction face-to-face with another person can be that spark that someone needs, that love and concern they’ve been missing out on.
One of the early signs of Christianity that was utterly distinct was their love. Being physically present is very much at the heart of this. Our touch, attention, and overall presence can dramatically affect a lost soul and draw them into the personal experience/touch of Christ Jesus.
The next time you’re doing something that has the option of either dealing with a real person or an automated process, choose the person. I don’t care if it takes a couple of minutes more. You just might bear the Light of Christ that someone desperately needs, that could impact their life forever.
