We are now well and truly into a time of lock-down.
I don't know about you but, I don't think I have ever spent quite so long staring at screens as I have been recently.
Hearing from some of you, it sounds like you've found the same thing.
If your day looks anything like mine the first thing you do is check your phone, or touch it to turn your alarm off. Then you'll pick it up, maybe every 5 minutes or so throughout the day to check what the latest vibration was trying to tell you. You realise that it was just a system update that you should've done months ago, but that was still enough to lure you into another stint of sitting on your phone wasting time looking at memes of dogs eating ice creams.
It's got me thinking about what my priorities are. What is it that I really care about at the moment? Granted, we often need a laptop or computer to do work, so that's legit, and yes our phones are a device for communication, but do I really need to be spending hours and hours on my phone? Or sat behind a screen watching my 13th YouTube video? (I literally watched a video of a cat giving birth the other day, I have no idea what got me to that point, but it was rather educational...)
Whilst you sit and read this, grab your phone and have a look at your screen time for the past few days. What does it say? 1 hour? 2 hours? 6 hours? More?
I'd imagine you're either feeling great that you've spent less time than you thought you had, or you're equally impressed/slightly shocked at how many hours you've spend holding a little electronic device. And this doesn't even include using a laptop/tablet/TV etc.
This isn't meant to make us feel guilty about the habit's we've got ourselves in, but to give us an awareness of where we are putting our time, energy and priorities.
If you lost your phone or had it taken away from you how would you find it? What would feel?
The way you'd respond probably shows you how significant your phone is to you, and if even the idea of that makes you a little anxious, angry or anything else negative, then I think it's time to reevaluate your relationship with your phone.
So lets challenge ourselves. Lets change the dependence we have on our phones for entertainment, boredom-filling and joy bringing or anything else that it fills and replace it with something else.
Do something creative, go outside for a walk, a run, a cycle. Go climb a tree, do some journalling, read a book (the Bible is a great thing to read btw), play an instrument, sing, bake, whatever you can do that will help you turn away from an addiction to your mobile phone.
Why not also try setting yourself some other goals of how long you can go without your phone. May start with half an hour, and work your way up. Maybe it's not having your phone in your room whilst you sleep. Think of something that will be a challenge for you, and build on it!
Here's an interesting thought, if today I took away your Bible and your phone, which would you miss more?
If your honest answer was your phone, then I'd say it's time to start picking up your Bible instead of your phone. To uncover the joy, encouragement, and promises God has for your life to that can only be found in the Bible.
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