When I was born in New Zealand in 1972 we only had one television channel, TV One.  In 1975 we had a second channel added, TV 2; and then for the rest of my childhood and teenaged years in New Zealand we only had two television channels to choose from.  

There was no internet, or streaming services back then, and if you missed a certain television program that was it.  It was gone.  You couldn’t watch it again.  There was no recording it so that you could watch it later, or Catch Up TV, or watching it On Demand.

Although this scenario would sound terrifying to many children and young people today, it was actually a great time to be a kid because we had minimal distractions. 

When I was a child my friends and I would be like, “What’s on TV?”  When we turned to TV1 it was Days of our Lives and we would be like, “That’s boring!”  And then we would turn it to TV 2 and it was the news and we were like, “That’s boring too!”  And then we would go and play outside, spending time together connecting, laughing, and joking around.     

Now we all have access to literally hundreds of different channels, programs, and video clips at the touch of a button.  Foxtel, Netflix, Stan, Disney Channel, Amazon Prime, You Tube, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat, have all made it easier for us to connect to our favourite programs; but the flip side is that this has made us more distracted and disconnected as a society.

In the book of Luke, Jesus is at the house of two sisters, Mary and Martha, and while Martha is busy in the kitchen, Mary is sitting with Jesus and listening to him.  Martha gets upset at Jesus for not telling Mary to help her, to which Jesus replies, “Martha, Martha! You are worried and upset about so many things, but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is best, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42).

Martha was so distracted by the busyness of life that she missed the most important things of all: connecting with God, and connecting with others. 

Take some time out this week to ponder these two questions:

1. What distractions do I have in my life that may have caused me to be disconnected from God, and the people whom I care about?
2. What can I do to be more connected to God, and my significant others?

God bless,

Roland Talamaivao-Amituanai