Friday, August 04, 2006

Caller I.D.-ing the Lord

Caller I.D. bugs me. Why do people need it? When I ask, most people dance around my question. I believe the real truth is—we don’t want to talk to certain people.

One defense of Caller I.D. is that there are times when we need our privacy, our time alone. May I suggest if this is true, don’t pay the monthly Caller I.D. charge, and just don’t answer the phone!

Why should this bother me? Let’s say you are a member of a service organization and need to line up workers for the yearly local celebration. You call someone; no answer; after 3 calls you find yourself talking to an answering machine and leave a message. You call again one week later to confirm if Bubba is going to be able to work at the celebration but again get no answer. I highly suspect you are a victim of “Caller I.D. itis”—probably it’s symptomatic of a fear of mine that some people just don’t want to talk to Old Jer!

In Isaiah 66:4 it says, “So I also will choose harsh treatment for them. And I will bring upon them what they dread. For when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, no one listened. They did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.”

How many times has the Lord called and we chose not to answer. (Caller I.D.ing Him.) When He spoke we chose not to listen.

Remember there is a limit to God’s patience (Romans 1:20-32). The more we Caller I.D. Him when He calls, the less sensitive our conscience becomes and pretty soon we are going through our rituals (read Isaiah 66) with no feeling or passion. We become cold hearted with a backslapping, smiling, two-faced demeanor. God help us!

Who does the Lord esteem? Isaiah 66:2 says, “This is the one I esteem, he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”

Maybe we need to be a little less protective of our privacy and “our own time” and tremble at His Word.

Oh Lord, forgive me for turning away; keep my conscience alive. Give me the power to obey and not Caller I.D. you when you call. Amen

1 comment:

Steve Thorson said...

Thanks again. I like how you write. It's one thing to decide not to answer the phone, caller ID or not, and another not to answer the Lord's call. But we do isolate ourselves. I like my caller ID on my cell phone because sometimes it can tell me I need to interrupt what I'm doing to get a callback from a person I've been playing tag with. We don't have caller ID at home or at church. Sometimes, at both places, I choose not to answer, but at least I'm not discriminating against any certain person.

Another reason why we like to avoid people by using caller ID is so we don't need to do that "reconciling" and "repent & forgive" work the Lord calls us to do. I pray I will always be willing to answer that call from the Lord, to live in peace with others as much as it depends on me.