When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1874, he could never have imagined where it would lead. The name telephone originated from the Greek words tele, meaning far, and the word phonos, meaning sound. Both words are descriptive of its use in modern society. We are now able to communicate far, and we are bombarded with a multitude of sounds. The telephone has to have been one of the greatest and most useful inventions in modern times but with it have come great dangers as well. Why do I say this? With technological progress came the mobile telephone and the many functions that this machine can achieve.

Technological Progress⤒🔗

Mobile telephones are a most useful tool but with the progress in technology have come grave dangers. The mobile telephone was meant to be for communication but now it can receive and send emails, surf the internet and do many other tasks. They can be used for good or for bad, depending upon the hands they are in. As Christians, we have a great responsibility before God in ensuring that these machines are used for a good purpose.

I was one of those who possessed one of the first mobile telephones that came into existence but since then the advance has been beyond belief. As well as this, there have come advances in computers and the birth of the internet. As the internet grew, we have seen along with the good information it provides, a pit of evil. Man, woman, boy or girl now has access to all their hearts’ carnal desires.

Danger to Children←⤒🔗

One of the greatest threats to our children is this current and growing mobile phone ‘trend’. We have seen the alarming rate at which this phenomenon has spread into almost every child’s hand. Most children appear to have had them surgically implanted into their hands or to their ears, only finding detachment in sleeping hours. For Christian parents with children, it is clear that this technically advancing weapon is the new internet and holds great dangers which we ignore at our children’s peril. This era of texting has become a plague in our society, but I fear also in our churches and in our home life. Our children are being torn away from the art of communication and from the child’s natural God-given pleasures, to playing phone games, texting, listening to pop music on them and all manner of other functions. It would seem in many cases that if a child does not have a mobile phone with which to communicate, they are unable to communicate! It is addictive behaviour and has become the ‘drug’ of the younger generation. When a new mobile telephone comes into the market place, there is great interest and a great desire by children to get it. It is most certainly a form of idolatry. When children get a new mobile telephone, at what in most cases is a great financial cost to their parents, they run to their friends showing them their new ‘god’. They revel in it, as that which will bring them the praise of others and a new image. It takes the place of God in the hearts of children and the Scriptures take a back seat.

Worldliness←⤒🔗

We have to ask ourselves if this is good Christian stewardship in the sight of God. Is not the cost of calls (or contract) an unnecessary expense? Have we lost sight of the things of God and are running after the things of man? After all, why does one need a telephone? Is it not just for the purpose of making a telephone call to someone at a time of importance? Have we lost sight of the real reason why a child may have been given a mobile telephone? Did we not give them a telephone as a means to communicate with us in time of need? Why then do they need to have every other conceivable gadget within the telephone’s domain, including the internet? Surely it is now high time to examine ourselves and see if we are honouring God and protecting our children from this grave danger. Many years ago, a Christian friend lent me a very old leaflet entitled, ‘Satan’s mission of amusement’. Is this not the same case? Are we not giving our children a machine that will provide to the heart a means of worldly amusement? Let us all take great care of our children’s hearts and remember to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.