Does Place Really Matter?

Increasingly, it seems as if we live in a “placeless” world. Oh, to be sure, you and I occupy places in this world. But with technology flattening and shrinking the world, we might begin to wonder if place really matters. Perhaps we are now inhabitants of “noplace.”

Take the workplace, for example. We use the word “workplace,” but increasingly people are not working from a particular place known as “the office” or “the store.” A 2013 article from Wired puts it this way:

Forrester Research’s US Telecommuting Forecast notes that 34 million Americans work from home. This number is expected to reach a staggering 63 million – or 43 percent of the U.S. workforce – by 2016. This number is so significant, it bears repeating – 43 percent of the U.S. workforce will work from home just three years from today. This is a figure too large and an opportunity too valuable for organizations to ignore.

Whether the 43 percent prediction turns out to be right or not, the point is well taken. Moreover, this projection does not take into considering the number of people who work remotely, though not at home. When you add in work done on the road, in airports, and at Starbucks, the percentage surely grows larger.

So, does place matter for our work?

What about our personal lives? Does place matter here? Perhaps, though, increasingly, we are connecting to people no matter where we or they may be. An article in Gizmodo proclaims, “There’s Nothing Wrong with a FaceTime Thanksgiving.” In the past, we who were separated from family and friends for the holidays had to make long distance phone calls, hearing only voices. Now, with FaceTime, Skype, Google Hangouts, and the like, we can both see and hear what’s happening at our mother’s Thanksgiving table without actually being there. Leslie Horn, writing for Gizmodo, observes, “But there is this vital sort of realness that bubbles up when you can look at someone in the eye—err, the camera, or the screen, or in their general direction. That feeling just isn’t as potent if you’re simply talking it up. So enjoy that realness and closeness and awkwardness next Thursday—and beyond.” This realness comes at no cost once you have the technology. Moreover, it requires no waiting in airport lines, being patted down by TSA officers, sitting in crowded terminals, being delayed by bad weather, spending hours sitting in airplane seats designed for hobbits, and then, a couple of days later, doing it all over again. If I can FaceTime my relatives on Thanksgiving and other holidays, why not avoid the expense and hassle of travel?

So, does place matter in our relationships?

And what about in our faith? Does place matter in our relationship with God?

For the ancient Israelites, the answer was clearly “yes.” Their relationship with God was oriented in their land and their temple. But Christians happily inhabit the whole world, even if we sing “The world is not my home, I’m just a passin’ through.” We don’t believe we need to be in a certain place to experience God because God is everywhere. God’s Spirit dwells within us.

So, does place matter in our faith?

I’m not going to answer the “place” questions today. Rather, I’d be interested in your input. As you think about your life and all that makes a difference, does place really matter?