We all sacrifice a lot to accomplish the things which we care most deeply. However, sacrifices are not always positive, easy, and/or beautiful thing.
I want to talk to you about something that has been near and dear to my heart lately, and that is the iPhone. Me writing about this may be somewhat comical, for if you are like 90% of people you are probably reading this on some sort of mobile device; and the remaining 10% of you dinosaurs may read this on a computer. Sure, tons of blogs have been written about the iPhone, numerous books depict the challenges of using advanced technology, and everyone has their own opinion, but after reading Tony Reinke's new book "12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You," I am even more aware of the control I allow my iPhone to play in my every day life. This awareness, and attempt to reign in my usage, has been going on for nearly two years now. I think I am aware because I am annoyed with other peoples' iPhone habits. Isn't it true we always notice what we hate in ourselves in others first?
The phone, and more specifically the iPhone, is an essential part of our every day. Instant updates and news at our finger tips, and yes, this is beneficial to some degree. However, in regards to sacrifice, we willingly lay on the iPhone altar every single day, spilling our most prized and glamorous details of the day. We allow social media outlets to control us. We allow the iPhone, or the things that are accessed on it, to dictate our attitudes and feelings. We allow it to tell us how we should think. We allow it to tell us where to go. We allow it to control us.
Now don't get me wrong, I am appreciative of technology as much as the next person. I have depended on technology and all its advances to improve my quality of life and my day to day activities. I want you, reader, to know that I am writing this post because I am primarily writing TO and FOR myself. I need this reminder, because I know it's true; and I know I need to change. Technology like the iPhone is wonderful; however, there has to be a line when using it. There just has to.
SACRIFICE.
We sacrifice gazing into a newborns eyes while nursing because we are scrolling through feeds of other moms' babies.
We sacrifice experiencing the moment at a concert because we are too busy snapping and sharing a song, nearly watching the entire concert through our own mobile device.
We sacrifice intimacy with our spouse because we troll the "perfect, beautiful, never-fight" couples online.
We sacrifice our safety, our kids' safety, and the safety of the drivers sharing the road because we text and drive as if we are in complete control.
We sacrifice quality time with friends and family because we can FaceTime much easier and faster, allowing ourself a quick hang-up if something "more important" comes up.
We sacrifice the ability to seek information on our own because we ask Siri the answers, get frustrated because we all know she's useless, and then spend more screen-time because we forgot what we were "looking up" in the first place.
We sacrifice reading deeply because we skim articles and stories quickly (probably this one included).
We sacrifice genuine friendships because we reduce them to likes and shares on social media.
We sacrifice the "here and now" at an event because we are concerned so much about other peoples' "there and then."
We sacrifice our family time as we all sit on the couch in the same room, doing nothing other than scrolling social media.
We sacrifice nurturing our athletic talents because we are holed up comparing our body to a paid social media star's body.
The list is endless. But if anything is important. If anything is worth highlighting in this small part of the internet. It's this:
We sacrifice a personal relationship with Christ because we would rather be on our iPhones.
Now, I know this is where some of you stop reading because apparently I am full of garbage because your relationship with Christ is awesome. Good for you, but you're really missing the point. Your iPhone has a battery, and the battery keeps track of what apps you spend the most time on. Look at yours. Our batteries have convicted us and rendered us all guilty. If your prayer life, your bible, your face-to-face fellowship groups had a battery tracker, would it be more than these apps?
Mine neither.
SACRIFCE.
If none of the scenarios caused you to nod your head, look around, you'll notice how much others are missing out on because their eyes are buried in their phones. When you notice it of others, you'll notice it about yourself. It's scary, but don't be too hard on people, because we are all one click from being what you see, we could all become (or we are already are) these pictures. Tony Reinke reminds us that no demographic is immune from this addiction.
But what should concern us the most is the eternal. Jesus. Our relationship with the Almighty One. What could our life look like if we spent more time with the Lord? What could other peoples' lives look like as we seriously invested in them? How could our homes and workplace and neighborhoods and churches and cities because eternally changed because we decided to invest as much effort in our relationship with Christ as we do making the perfect Instagram photo, catching up on a day's worth of Facebook material, or refreshing our Twitter to see if we finally got a RT? What if we really got serious about things that mattered eternally, and not waste so much time on the temporal?
(Remember, I am writing this for me even more so than I am you.)
So what can we do?
SACRFICE.
We can sacrifice our iPhones on the altar of Jesus Christ. A "giving up so others benefit" kind of thing. Everyone, including the iPhone owner, benefits when we deny ourselves the excessive pleasure of social media.
We sacrifice the iPhone so we can gaze into a newborns baby blue eyes.
We sacrifice the iPhone so we can experience the smells and sounds and people at the concert.
We sacrifice the iPhone to reignite intimacy with our spouse.
We sacrifice the iPhone because our safety is more important.
We sacrifice the iPhone to make memories with friends and family because time is fleeting.
We sacrifice the iPhone to spend time seeking valid information on our own.
We sacrifice the iPhone to read deeply with passion and grow in solid knowledge.
We sacrifice the iPhone to form genuine, lasting, meaningful friendships.
We sacrifice the iPhone so we can make the most of the "here and now."
We sacrifice the iPhone so we grow closer as a family unit.
We sacrifice the iPhone so we can nurture our athletic talents.
And ultimately, if for no other reason than this, we sacrifice the iPhone so we can have a richer, deeper, closer, more passionate, eternal personal relationship with Christ.
Can our phones be used for good? Absolutely.
Can our phones be used for the eternal? Again, yes.
But in my life and I am guessing yours, we are a slave to refreshes and retweets, likes and shares, snaps and snap streaks. We aren't using it for eternal impact for the Kingdom of Heaven. We are using it to glorify our own personal kingdom on earth, and that is vanity and a sin against our Holy God.(Ecclesiastes 1)
We need to ask ourselves this, are we more willing to sacrifice our phone habits now or are we more comfortable with sacrificing our limited time, precious relationships, and our only Savior and Risen King Jesus Christ?
Jesus didn't sacrifice himself so that we could walk around to be mindless, self-absorbed, phone addicts. Remember his sacrifice for you, and the phone is rendered ridiculous.
Photos above are taken by Eric Pinkersgill and are a part of his series "Removed." For more of his work, click HERE.
I am currently on chapter 11 in Reinke's book, but hope to finish before publishing this post.
Click HERE to purchase Tony Reinke's "12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You" (This is not an affiliate link. I just genuinely want you to buy the book because it provides SO much more insight, encouragement, and detail of how our phones are changing us. It's a must read for all.)
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