One day I was adding items to my grocery cart on my phone and my then three-year-old called me out, saying, “Mom, are you even listening to me? You’re always on your phone.” My knee jerk reaction was defense because of course I’m not “always” on my phone, but before I could say anything in response, the realization of all that I do on my phone hit me, as did the conviction of all the times I am on my phone and not doing anything productive. She didn’t know if I was communicating with someone, buying something, or mindlessly scrolling on social media. All she knew was that my eyes weren’t on her. My attention was divided, and she wanted more of it than she had.  

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Have you ever had your phone give you the report for how many hours you’ve spent on it each week? That number can be sobering at times. Staring at our phones seems to be one habit many of us know probably isn’t the best for us, but we also have a terrible time breaking the habit. It’s almost muscle-memory to open our favorite app and scroll. For most of us, the things that take our attention and time are not inherently bad things. In fact, some things could even fall into a “good” or “harmless” category, but if we had to classify each thing we did throughout the day as meaningful or worthless, my guess is that most of the time we spend on our phones would be classified as worthless or “lacking value.” The problem is that our phones have become the central hub for all things. The phrase, “there’s an app for that,” exists for a reason. You can bank, shop, organize your calendar, calculate, take pictures and videos, book flights, email, play games, watch YouTube, figure out how to get somewhere, send birthday greetings, google anything you’d ever want to know, listen to music, etc. The list is truly endless. It is not lost on me that even as I write this devotion, I use the Bible app on my phone for reference, which would classify as meaningful.

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My personal conviction is being on my phone too much. I believe this is likely the issue for many of us, although there are other things that can fall into this “worthless” category, as well – maybe for you it’s video games, TV watching, or an obsession with sports. If you can spout off game scores easier than you can recall what the pastor spoke about at church, this might be an area to reexamine in your life.

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So, what do we do about this? How, in today’s culture, can we realistically restrict ourselves from phones and entertainment avenues at every turn? As with most things that the Bible does not explicitly instruct, we must rely on our personal conviction from the Holy Spirit. You know, when you have that passing thought of, “How long have I been on here?” Or perhaps you lose interest in a video and something in you says, “What are you doing?” as you select another. I believe that if we prayerfully approach our phones and ask the Holy Spirit to convict and guide our eyes and fingers, He will be faithful, but it begins with our hearts and our inner desire to turn our eyes from worthless things before that conviction can become action. Psalm 101:3 says, “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.” This is a personal conviction followed by action. This action turns the desire for worthless things into hatred for things of no value. Are you willing to take a conviction to that degree?

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When God brings conviction to your heart of something that may have too much control over your time, He doesn’t just convict you and leave you in a conundrum on how to solve it; He offers instruction for changing course. Today’s Scripture says, “and give me life in your ways.” You may be asking what this means. My understanding is that our desire for worthless things is not because we don’t value the things of God at all, it is that we do not value them nearly enough. Our attention is divided. Sometimes we numb our minds and scroll because it’s easier than being convicted over an area where we need growth. It feels like work to make changes and step into a closer relationship with God. So let us make our prayer that not only would the Holy Spirit convict us over the worthless things in our lives, but that we would desire to change in order that we may receive the life-giving ways of God.  

I pray that the gentle conviction of the Holy Spirit would not have you reacting defensively or immediately attempting to justify your time, but that we would sit in any conviction we feel and ask God to help us desire life His way.

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Lord, I’m so grateful for your gentle Spirit. I pray you would help me to correctly identify the worthless things in my life and to replace them with Godly things. We know you have something for us. Help us to desire that over the mindless scrolling. Amen.