November letter.
Dear everyone.
Recently our cooker went wrong, and we had to buy a new one because we could not find replacement parts. When the new cooker was installed we received a book of instructions with 48 pages in it!
This is one of the nightmares of present-day living. Almost everything new that you buy has a whole list of do’s and don’ts.
We are all suffering from ‘information overload.’ If we do not get a thing right first time, the mistake can take hours to sort out and leave us with a sense of frustration.
There is a new illness called ‘digital fatigue,’ and it has very little to do with ‘tired fingers’ except that many people have to spend excessive time with computers in order to do their work. This is a serious problem.
There are many of my ministerial friends for instance who find their ability to get on with their pastoral work is seriously curtailed by all the extra work that centralised bureaucracy has created in this sphere.
Mark Vernon reminds us that new medical research suggests that ‘the heart is more than a physical pump. It interacts with the human spirit. Brain and heart work in tandem, not as master and slave.’
We all have to take great care that we do not allow the tremendous demands of digital technology to drive our lives. Brain and heart must work in tandem. The question is: have we got the balance right?
Jesus reminds us that ‘where your heart is, there is your treasure also.’
Do we allow the deeper the affairs of the heart and our desire to seek the greater good, real space in our time and prayers. Do we look after our ‘treasure’?
Every blessing, David
(PS.For the latest article in the Nottingham Post about Remembrance Day see http://www.nottinghampost.com/Revd-David-Monkton-Positive-responses-Remembrance/story-20056658-detail/story.html
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