You’ve doubtless come across the (paradoxical) three wise monkeys – Hear No Evil (with his hands over his ears), See No Evil (hands over eyes) and Speak No Evil (hands over mouth). But recently, I saw a picture with a fourth monkey which grabbed my attention.

A fourth monkey … really? What was he doing? He was looking down at his mobile phone and under the image was the inscription “the fourth monkey is the sum of the first three”. Ain’t that the truth?!

There’s been quite a bit of research done on smartphones … and yes, it’s absolutely true that they’re addictive and that this addiction correlates with increased levels of depression and anxiety, as well as poor sleep further impacting overall wellbeing.

Even more problematic is the evidence that smartphone use during non-working hours disrupts work-family balance and induces increased levels of family conflict. Of course, we don’t need research to tell us that. Seeing a whole family at a restaurant with mum, dad and the kids all on their phones makes it patently obvious.

It seems that we’re all so fixated on our phones that we’ve stopped listening to each other.

James 1:19-20 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. (NIV)

Look, every technology is both a blessing and a burden. The key is understanding what the blessing is and what the burden is. Some are good trades, some are bad trades. However you handle this, when it comes to your loved ones: Be quick to listen.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.