Points2Ponder🎙: Alexa, What About My Neighbour?

Are We Upgrading Our Things but

Downgrading Our Priorities?

Philipose Vaidyar

When was the last time you bought something you did not really need? When was the last time you wanted to help someone but postponed it, thinking you would do so when you had a little more money?

Could these two things be connected?

We live in a world that constantly tells us to buy more, upgrade more and make life easier. Advertisements appear on our phones, shopping apps remind us of what we might be missing, and social media shows us what others own. Even when we are not looking for anything, we somehow discover something we would like to have.

There is nothing wrong with buying what we need or enjoying the benefits of technology. The question is whether our wants are growing faster than our willingness to share what we have.

From the Bicycle to Alexa

I remember a time when owning a bicycle was an aspiration for many. A scooter or motorbike came next. A refrigerator, mixer grinder or typewriter could make us feel that we had moved up in life. Later came computers, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens and a growing collection of gadgets for our homes, offices and farms.

The changes have been remarkable. We have moved from pressing mechanical buttons to touching screens, and now we can simply ask a voice assistant to switch on a light. We have moved from the finger to the fingertip, and from the fingertip to the voice.

Each new invention promises to save time and effort. Food can arrive at our doorstep with a few taps. Machines can do many of the jobs that once occupied hours of our day. We can even manage several household devices without getting up from our seats.

All this should leave us with more time for the things that matter. Yet I wonder whether we are actually becoming more available to people.

We can order food without leaving home, but do we find time to visit a neighbour who is unwell? We can speak to friends across the world, but do we know what is happening in the home next door? We have access to a global village through our screens, yet sometimes remain strangers to those who live within walking distance.

Perhaps the problem is not the technology. It is what we choose to do with the time and money it saves us.

Earn More, Want More

Most of us want to earn more. Some of that desire comes from genuine responsibilities: educating children, caring for parents, meeting medical expenses, and preparing for the future. We may also want to help relatives, support a ministry, or contribute to someone else's needs. These are good reasons to work hard.

The difficulty begins when every increase in income brings a corresponding increase in expenses. A working phone must soon be replaced by a better one. A vehicle that takes us where we need to go begins to feel inadequate beside a newer model. An appliance that does its job perfectly well is exchanged for one with more features.

Before long, we may find ourselves working harder, not to become more generous, but to maintain the lifestyle we have gradually come to expect.

What happened to the extra money we hoped would enable us to help others?

This is not an argument against owning a good phone, buying a vehicle or making our homes comfortable. Circumstances differ, and what is a luxury for one person may be a necessity for another. The point is to recognise the difference between what we need, what we can afford and what we merely desire.

More Room for Things, Less Room for People

Look around our homes. We find ways to make room for new purchases. We rearrange cupboards, add shelves, buy storage units or make plans for a bigger house. When a new device arrives, we usually find a place for it.

Do we make the same effort to accommodate people?

There may be an elderly person who needs a visit, a family struggling with school fees, a neighbour who needs help, or a relative going through a difficult season. We may feel for them sincerely, but our money is already committed, and our schedules are full.

Of course, we cannot meet every need. None of us has unlimited resources, and we should not feel guilty about every purchase or every need we cannot meet. Still, it is worth asking whether our choices leave any room for someone beyond our own household.

We have become quite good at finding space for things. Have we been equally careful to make space for people?

I Am Asking Myself These Questions Too

I am not writing this as someone who has escaped the temptation. I, too, have wanted things: a laptop, a scooter, a camera, and other items that seemed useful or desirable at different stages of life. I know the pleasure of finally owning something one has wanted for a long time.

There is nothing inherently wrong with such aspirations. A laptop can help us work, a scooter can make travel easier, and a camera can help us preserve memories or tell a story. The same item can be a necessity for one person and an unnecessary upgrade for another.

What matters is the question we ask before making the purchase.

Will this genuinely improve my life or work? Is what I already own no longer adequate? Can I afford it without neglecting my responsibilities? Is there a more important need that I have been putting off?

I may not always arrive at the right answer. You may not either. Yet asking these questions can help us recognise when a reasonable desire is turning into a habit of always wanting the next thing.

Perhaps contentment is not about refusing to own anything new. Sometimes it is simply being satisfied with what works, even when something better is available.

What Are We Making Room For?

Technology will continue to advance. New models will appear, old devices will become outdated, and things that once seemed extraordinary will soon become ordinary. We cannot stop that progress, nor do we need to.

What we can examine is our response to it. Every purchase involves more than money. It also reflects our priorities and, over time, shapes the kind of life we live.

Perhaps the real measure of progress is not only how much more comfortable our lives have become, but whether we have become more generous, more attentive, and more available to others.

The next time I feel the urge to upgrade something, I want to pause and ask myself one more question: Am I making my life better only for myself, or am I also making it better for someone else?

Jesus once challenged a rich young man with words that are difficult to fit into a culture of endless accumulation:

“Sell what you have and give to the poor … and come, follow me.” — Matthew 19:21

Jesus was speaking to a particular man in a particular situation. His words are not a blanket command that every purchase is wrong. Yet they leave us with an uncomfortable question about the things we hold on to and the people we may be overlooking.

We have spent years learning how to make room for more things in our homes.

Perhaps it is time to ask whether we are making enough room for people in our lives.