Communication

“Today (3-10-26 MJA) marks 150 years since Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call from his Boston lab to his assistant in a nearby room. The breakthrough came just days after Bell received a patent for telephone technology, four days after his 29th birthday. His successful prototype used acidified water to convert acoustic oscillations created by the human voice into electrical, voice-mimicking oscillations that could travel to a receiver. The design closely resembled that of American electrical engineer Elisha Gray, who unsuccessfully contested Bell's patent in court. Bell went on to commercialize his telephone by founding the Bell Telephone Co., which eventually became the American Telephone and Telegraph Co., or AT&T.”*

Communication has come a long way in a century and a half. Wouldn’t Mr. Bell be amazed if he were alive today? What a struggle it had been for him just to speak with someone in the same building. Now nearly everyone carries a small wireless device that allows them to communicate around the world almost instantly. And yet, for all the advances in technology, it seems like the ability to really communicate with each other hasn’t improved. In fact, the problem may have become worse.

Instant communication can make it more difficult for me to practice being quick to hear and slow to speak (James 1:19). A readily available keyboard can easily turn my words into rashly spoken thrusts of a sword (Proverbs 12:18). The world wide web allows me to multiply my words to an unlimited audience when restraint would likely have been wiser (Proverbs 10:19).

Am I against the advances made in communication? No. I’m grateful to have easy ways to stay in touch with family, friends, and the world. It’s much easier to call for help in times of distress or emergency. But I must be careful. The prayer of the Psalmist should be my prayer: “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips.” (Psalm 141:3).

God loves you!

Mike

*1440 Daily Digest, 3-10-26