Before Our Very Eyes

To be humble is to be authentic—accepting who we are, acknowledging our gifts and weaknesses, and not longing to be more intelligent, more popular, more attractive, or more athletic. Benedict says that the first step of gaining this humility is to keep the fear (that is, awe) of God always before one’s eyes (Rule of St. Benedict [RB] 7:10). When we remember that God is God and we are not, the pressure is off to be anyone other than who we are.

In our technological age, we are much more likely to keep our smartphone rather than God always before our eyes. Some of the consequences are that we are exposed to a stream of ads telling us that who we are is insufficient—we need to wear a particular type of clothing to fit in, use cosmetics to “improve” our appearance, or buy latest fitness equipment so we can lose weight. We are encouraged to seek approval of others through the number of “likes” we receive on our posts. We become easily distracted and less able to concentrate. We seek to be entertained rather than enlightened. Furthermore, social media is designed to show us what we want to see, so we become encased in a bubble with like-minded people and lose the ability to listen to and engage with people who have different views and interests than we do.

Rather than letting our phones and other technological devices control us, we can choose to recenter our focus on God, who is present to us through nature, other people, and in contemplation, not just in a 2” X 4” (or smaller) phone screen. Many of us say we don’t know where the time goes, but if we were to count the number of hours we spend in front of a screen every day, the answer likely would become clear.

St. Benedict says “We believe that the divine presence is everywhere” (RB 19:1). Let’s not be so preoccupied with our technological devices that we miss the awesomeness of God who is present in the beauty, diversity, and flesh and blood that exist outside the boundaries of our screens. Expanding our awareness in this way will help us become more humble, authentic, centered, and content—important keys to the good life.