Feeling Disconnected

How to Get Back on Track

The phones. The phones are killing us. We know and we lament it as we look at the clock at 2:30am and think.. just one more reel. Most of us understand, at some level, that we are addicted to our devices, but I’m coming to realize that it’s deeper than that. Every time we open up an app with the intention of relaxing or vegging out, we’ve stepped onto a battlefield where bullets look like reels, algorithms are maps with strategically placed landmines, and influencers are sirens in disguise, using their voices to lure us to our deaths.

It sounds extreme because it is. The situation is dire and we are being led down a dangerous path to perdition. I’m preaching to myself as over the last several months, God has been explicitly telling me to disconnect from social media. Any form of entertainment that lends itself to binging simply has to go. That’s been His directive. Interestingly, several people I’ve spoken to lately have said the same. God is telling them to delete the apps, streaming platforms, time-wasters. Most of us cannot imagine what life would be like without endless hours of scrolling. Some of us are in complete denial about how much time we actually spend flicking our thumbs south to north.

The Jungle Book “Trust in Me” (1967)

Something nefarious is at play and while some of us are casually talking about it, demonic forces are working hard, betting on our undisciplined minds and bodies to keep us stuck in a world that keeps us from connecting with one another in real life. The devil knows that if we, as human beings, actually talk to one another, we’ll find out we have more in common than not, and begin to help one another and dare I say, love one another. We are trapped in a death-cycle of political and social ideology and have completely forgotten what it means to be a Christian in the world. Our calling to its core is to go out and love God and our neighbour. How can we do that if we’re holed up in our bedrooms watching cat videos, politics, and people cooking pasta in silence? Be honest - how many of us can’t pee without simultaneously scrolling? Are we that afraid to be alone with our thoughts or to have our minds slow down just a bit? If we’ve got any doubt as to why we don’t feel close to God or haven’t been able to hear His voice, it just may be that the screen-time is acting as interference.

The world of storytelling is getting darker. Where once we looked for good to conquer evil, we now empathize with and validate the motives of serial killers. We watch traumatic, explicit, and graphic scenes of people being murdered, sexually assaulted, or terrorized and we think.. It’s so raw. It’s so real. We like to feel we have some insider knowledge, or that we may even learn a thing or two about avoiding such situations in our real lives. We lay on the couch or in our beds after a long day, hoping to relax, and instead we enter worlds of darkness where the main themes are death, sadness, murder, destruction, lying, cheating, stealing, affairs, and then we wonder why we’re feeling so overwhelmed and burdened all the time.

Sure, there are some shows and movies that are uplifting, and there is a beautiful place for them! We should watch, read, and listen to what inspires us to perpetuate beauty in the world. I’m not suggesting that we never watch anything, but I am suggesting we be selective and intentional about how we consume media. When we have to physically turn up the brightness on our devices because the scene of the show is literally so dark we can’t see what’s happening.. that’s our cue to evaluate if the series is going to give us life or suck us into the underworld.

When I think about living life on purpose, my mind always goes to David. The bible says he was a man after God’s own heart. He wasn’t perfect and he made a lot of mistakes, really awful and impactful mistakes, but when he was on track, God was his number one priority. He spent his youth in the fields taking care of sheep. In the pastures outside of Bethlehem, David honed his sling-shot skills, wrote songs and learned to play the harp and lyre, rested, and kept his sheep safe. I imagine that if he’d scrolled constantly throughout the day, he would not have prayed much, a few sheep would have gone missing, he’d have lost the fight against Goliath due to being a lousy shot where the sling was concerned, and he’d never have learned to play the musical instruments that later would be used to cast out demons from King Saul’s tormented mind. If David had a smartphone, it’s very possible he would have completely missed his purpose and the anointing God planned for his life.

If we want to do anything effective for the Kingdom of God, we have to be plugged into the source. We cannot serve two masters and most of us are doing exactly that. We’re sacrificing prayer for Prime. We’re trading time in the Bible to enter regurgitated storylines that offer no hope, but leave us desperate to hit “next episode” so that we can escape the reality of our lives. What if God is trying to give us the solution to our problems, but we can’t hear Him because we’ve accidentally or on purpose shut Him out? Have you ever had dinner with someone who wouldn’t put their phone down? It’s exasperating! Is that what we’re doing to God? I’ll be the first to raise my hand. I have done this. I do this! And as a result, this week, I have deleted my instagram account.

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.”

-Matthew 5:30

Jesus isn’t asking us to physically mutilate our bodies, but He is giving us directions to remove whatever is causing separation between us and God.

The time is now. As AI takes over the internet and it becomes more difficult to decipher the truth from what is false, we must lean into the scripture’s directives so that we may be people who operate from a place of wholeness, with wisdom, being guided by the Good Shepherd who calls our names and whom we follow.

I’m going to put a good chunk of a passage here for us to meditate on, but there is one line in particular that stands out. I’ve chosen the NIV translation for this particular verse because it gets straight to the point.

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

-Proverbs 4:23 NIV

Have you ever noticed that after watching a show, you begin to think or speak like the main character, pulling from their vocabulary or habits? It’s fascinating the way our minds work! We imitate. It’s what we do. It’s the way we acquire language and life skills. It just simply is what it is. So, with that in mind, let’s hear what God has to say in this passage from Proverbs 4.

Hear, my child, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many.

I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness.

When you walk, your step will not be hampered; and if you run, you will not stumble.

Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.

Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evildoers.

Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.

For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;

they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.

For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what they stumble over.

My child, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.

Do not let them escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.

For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.

Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.

Keep straight the path of your feet, and all your ways will be sure.

Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

-Proverbs 4:10-27

I know that’s a lot to chew, but verses 14-17 are especially poignant this time reading through. “Do not enter the path of the wicked….” We are being instructed not to walk down the path of violence. If our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, then our minds and hearts must also be protected and fed good, holy food, in order to have the wisdom and understanding that can only come from God! Jesus tells us to be light in the world. How can we do that if in the moments we have to recharge and refuel, we are filling ourselves with darkness or mediocre slop? We need the Holy Spirit to reside in us and make the flames in our hearts so bright that evil moves out of the way when we walk into a room. This all happens through divine anointing and the only way to have the power of God is to receive it from Him directly, and that means time in prayer and proximity to Jesus. Period.

Here is a list of action items to consider this week:

1. What are the dreams or desires God has placed on your heart and what skills do you need in order to accomplish them?

2. Can you commit to swapping 10 minutes a day of scrolling for prayer and reading of the scriptures?

3. Is there anything in your life you feel God might be asking you to give up, or cut off - and are you willing to give it all for Him? If not, consider praying for the desire to give up what He’s asking. It will be worth it!

I am praying for us, Church. I’m praying for revival and that we can be people who live out the promises of God. People who live with purpose, on purpose, to bring Jesus to a world that is so desperate for hope. In Jesus’ Name!

*Scriptures taken from NRSV-CI unless otherwise noted

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