Stop To Smell The Roses or Check Facebook

A new study by McCann Worldgroup called "The Truth About Youth" finds that over 50% of 7000 people aged 17-30 would sacrifice their own sense of smell before losing connection to technology (their phone or computer).

I cannot fathom such a decision.  God has gifted us with many things: sight, touch, taste, hearing, and smelling, of course.  Today, thousands are willing to sacrifice one of those gifts.  I wonder what other gifts we would be willing to give up in exchange for modern conveniences or privileges.

We are told all good gifts are from God, and the most important of these being Grace:

 ¹⁶ Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. -James 1

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. -Ephesians 2

At what point would we be willing to sacrifice our gift of Grace?  We sin all the time, rejecting God.  We may think this won't happen to us, that others might fall into that trap, but we can escape it.  That's a trap, we must constantly be on guard against attacks, or, like the Israelites after Egypt, fall away from our Saviour:

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

 ²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. -Romans 1  

So, put on the full armor of God, prepare yourself.  For we fight against Dark powers without and within us.  Do not forsake the gift The Lover of Your Soul has provided.  Don't get caught up with the temporal and that which shall pass away.  Do not store up treasures here on Earth (Matthew 6:20), for the Gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:23).