12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You by Tony Reinke unpacks one of our more dynamic relationships with technology. These modern times are not without Scriptural directives or the eyes of God.

A growing awareness of how our phones impact us yields a deeper relationship with Christ.

The effects of our phone use might be subtle, but they are altering our thought processes, our relationships, and our behavior. A variety of sins from lust to slander surface as we conveniently connect to the online world.

As each one examines their heart, we can approach technology from a biblical perspective, that furthers the Spirit’s work of growth and sanctification. The history of technology suggests that it is ever-changing, and as followers of Christ, we want to avoid any pitfalls that might keep us from living in light of eternity.

In this summary, you will learn:

  • legitimate reasons to be concerned about how our phones affect us;
  • that there is hope for victory as we seek to honor God in how we use technology; and
  • ways we can apply biblical truths and love our neighbors.

All too often, phones are simply another way for us to avoid reality.

We check our phones more often than we realize. They are full of resources that have us constantly reaching for them. This not only presents proven problems psychologically but has a host of spiritual ramifications as well.

We choose phones as a way to put off what we know we should be doing, to avoid interacting with others, and to remain focused on the things of this world rather than the eternal. Without our connection to all things digital, we would have to confront some hard truths about ourselves. We do not like thinking that our lives are a mere vapor, and we fight against that uncomfortable feeling of becoming obsolete. This has us relishing the thumbs-up from others because it creates a false sense of being alive.

Our natural hearts want to be busy with the cares of our own little worlds, but that is not the way they were originally designed to operate. Distractions build up walls between God and us because of the time and effort they require.

If we consider, for instance, what the Bible says about marriage and singleness, we learn a lot about the idea of distractions. As we find in 1 Corinthians 7, our relationships (whether as married folks or single) are to be singularly focused on God. Instead of allowing other things to disrupt our connection to Him and let our minds be occupied with the temporal, we should be eager and earnest in watching for Christ’s return. The heart of a Christian should be set on things above, on the magnificence of Christ.

It would be foolish to think we can live entirely without distraction, but some distractions offer life-giving benefits instead of robbing us of joy. Having discernment in this is necessary not to lose sight of what is really important and immanent.

We must become people who are intentional about handling distractions rightly. That means we are to take the time to evaluate where we really are and ask ourselves the hard questions. A heart that truly and passionately pursues a more God-centered life will throw off anything that hinders. Let us move away from a cluttered mind and toward a more pure, everlasting one.

Phones present an obstacle to loving others.

Not only do our phones get our persistent attention, but they pull us away from other things. This lack of care becomes extremely dangerous at times, as when we are trying to operate our phones and vehicles simultaneously. The rules against this do not appear to be having much of an effect, in part because we phone users just take greater risks and find more creative ways to send that “important” text. That we forsake the safety of those traveling among us should be called what it is: sin. It violates the second greatest commandment to “love our neighbors,” as we read in Mark 12:31.

Just as it is not true that we can do two things at once (like texting and driving), we also understand that it is harder to be angry at an actual person in front of us than the digital comments we read. We forget that those written words have a source and that a real human is producing them. So we lash out from a poorly perceived sense of security.

We also forfeit joy when we fail to meet together in person. Indeed, to have true communication is to enjoy another person in the flesh. Doing so gives us a more complete message because of the power of things like gestures and vocal inflections. Real love goes beyond the digital.

Of course, it is easier for us to prefer the bodiless offerings of the online world over the corporal concepts of Christianity. Baptism and communion reveal the connection between the physical and the spiritual, and they have vital roles in fellowship and oneness. This is part of the reason why the Bible decrees them as regular practices. Additionally, Christ Himself (who was and is God enfleshed) emphasizes our need to give our own spiritual faith shape and form by loving others.

We dislike our confinement to realities like gravity and clocks, rejecting those facts because of our deep desire to be some kind of superhuman. However, we need to acknowledge that God’s design includes interactions beyond that of a mere robot. He breathed life into dust to make a body that would eventually become flawed because of sin. We are, thus, intentionally unique from the technology we use…

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