Did you know your smartphone has more computing power than Apollo 11 that landed Americans on the moon? Did you know that alerts and notifications release the addiction-causing chemical dopamine into your brain? Even Apple shareholders want kids protected from iPhone. Wisdom with these remarkable devices is needed!
In 1 Corinthians 9:24, Paul writes “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.” The prize for the Christian is Jesus Himself, living for Him today and meeting Him face-to-face one day. If that’s our prize, we as Christians need to run to win while careful to not get tripped up!
Our biggest fear these days are not spiders nor nuclear weapons but rather fear of…
- Being out-of-sight and out-of-mind so we post then check for likes.
- Being a worker-not-approved so you reply to email at night and on weekends.
- Missing something so you scroll and scroll endlessly orbiting and never landing.
Use your smartphone as a tool in your run to Jesus.
- Use apps like The Bible App for reading plans, text Brothers and Sisters in Christ, use notes for prayer lists. As John Piper says, use your phone as your “pack mule” on the way to Jesus.
- If an app is a regular temptation for you, delete it or, if you have to keep it, put it on the last page of your apps or delete/re-download it when you need it. The hassle may just prevent an unwise decision.
- Determine when/if you will give a smartphone to your kids. Kids are savvier with tech than even the techiest adult among us. Make sure your voice of love plus God’s love for them is loud-and-clear because you are competing with casual likes.
- Purpose your social media toward making much of God and to love others (the Great Commandment).
God so loves you > social media likes.
Following God > followers.
City of pure gold > gold case.
A great book to check out is 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You by Tony Reinke.
