Oh, Cell Phone, Come Make us Humble?

As I was walking through the airport a few weeks ago I was struck by the astounding number of people who appeared to be bowing their heads in reverence. Even their arms were situated in a prayer-like position.

 My first reaction was shock. Could it really be that so many people were praying in the Dallas Fort Worth Airport?

Not soon after, my hopes were dashed. As I traipsed through the airport, I saw more and more people with their heads bowed, but as I took a closer look, I realized that there reverence was directed at...a cell phone.

A mere cell phone.

The most reverent thing that our society could do was bow their heads to a cell phone.

Almost immediately, the lyrics to the popular Christian song, Give us Clean Hands, came into my head:

"We bow our hearts, we bend our knees. Oh Spirit come make us humble. We turn our eyes from evil things, Oh Lord, we cast down our idols."

but this time, the lyrics just weren't the same. Society was re-writing the song to fit their own needs:

"We bow our hearts, we bend our knees. Oh cell phone come make us humble. We turn our eyes toward evil things. Oh Lord, we embrace our idols."

This may be an over-exaggeration, but I felt like it made a necessary illustration:

Society has not totally eliminated God in its own mind, but rather, has embraced God and their idols simultaneously! Just like the Israelites in the Old Testament our cell phones are like the golden calf.

Now, I don't mean to appear radical. I certainly use a cell phone regularly, and it is not the cell phone itself that is inherently wrong. The reaction to this post should not be to throw your cell phone out the window, or flush it down the toilet, or pray that your brother runs it over with his car.

The appropriate reaction is merely to think. What is our society coming to, if the only time we bow our heads in reverence publicly is to our cell phone--- an object which has neither grace nor mercy, possesses no justice, has no ability to redeem, and has a shelf life of about 2-5 years?

How foolish we are, indeed.

I suppose I can only pray that one day I can walk through the airport, or ride the metro, or meander down the sidewalks of D.C. and genuinely see people praying to the God of the universe. Today is not that day. But maybe, just maybe, I will be lucky enough to see it some day... even just once.