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Recently, I went to the local bike shop to see about handlebar tape for my bike. I have been using hockey tape on them, but over time, it seems to get sticky, so I decided to see what the bike shop sold. I didn't let on that I had been using hockey tape, but soon, I realized that it might be easier to use the hockey tape, as I stood looking at a nicely-laid-out peg board wall filled with many kinds of handlebar tape, some made of cork and some made of gel. But how did cork and gel tape differ from regular handlebar tape? Confused, I picked up the two boxes and went to find a sales person to help me. He explained, and then took me to two bikes and showed me the difference between the two. It amounted to a cushioning difference and personal preference. Then came the question of how this extra padding is installed. The sales person said that the easiest way is to go on the computer and watch a YouTube video on how to do it. I was flattered that he figured that I would know how to use a computer and what YouTube was. So off I went with my bicycle tape in hand, home to watch a video on my computer.

On the drive home, I began to think about this encounter. Gone was the personal touch that salespeople used to offer us as consumers. It seems easier now to send people to another source to get their help. As I thought about it, I realized that this does not just happen in the bike shop but in a lot of other stores as well. When we ask where something is, they tend to point and say, "Down aisle six on the right-hand side." A quick "thank you" and the conversation is over, and we are on our way to get said item.

Acts 22:15 – For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. (NKJV)

This short time-frame makes it very hard for the light of Jesus in us to shine to the other person, and even harder for us to get into a conversation that might lead to Jesus. Have we gone too far the other way with our hurried lifestyle that the personal times of days gone by are lost?

While technology is not a bad thing, we just need to be vigilant and make sure that we are sharing with unbelievers. There will come a day when this earth will be no more. Have we done all that we can to spread the good word? For me, it means that I will have to make an extra effort to have conversation with people I come into contact with daily.

1 Peter 4:7 – But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. (NKJV)

Matthew 24:14 – And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (NKJV)

Prayer: Dear Lord, we are thankful that You chose to come as a man and not in the form of a video to save us. As we navigate technology, help us not to get caught up in it, but rather to use it to share the good news of Jesus. Help us to keep our focus on You and our relationship with You first and foremost. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Julie Bowles