Reflecting On Priorities In A Modern World
What if we treated our relationship with God like we do our phones? The question popped into my head this morning as I lay in bed with my toddler about to grab my phone before my eyes barely had enough time to adjust to the light of the day. Suddenly I halted, pulled my arm back toward my son to embrace him as I reflected on the question above.
Why is my first inclination of the day to grab my phone off the charger for a notification check and a quick scroll to start my day? I suddenly hated my phone. Here I am being given the gift of a new day in a comfy bed with the beautiful blessing of waking up next to my healthy child, yet all I can think to do is grasp for my phone like I’m missing out on something better.
I imagine God waiting for me to greet him in gratitude. Welcoming the day He has given me while living out the life I desperately prayed for not too long ago- but I choose my phone over him. All throughout the day we’re choosing our phones over him. What if he chose us the same way we’re choosing him? Half hearted, last in line of daily priorities to only get the leftover time of the day.
What if we checked in on Godly notifications the same we check for notifications on our phone constantly. Notifications of how we can better serve God, notifications of how we can be of service to others throughout the day. What if we checked for God’s messages and missed calls the same way we do on our phones all day. What if instead of doom scrolling while waiting in line or at night in bed we choose to give thanks for any and everything we can think of in that moment.
Our relationship would flourish. What is your phone giving you that’s better than what God can give you? Absolutely nothing. Our phones aren’t filling us up; they’re absolutely draining us most of the time.
For much of my life I’ve given God the leftover time of my day, only choosing to put Him at the forefront when my life felt like it was in shambles and I wanted something so desperately. I’ve been on a journey to change that the last couple of years, but getting wrapped up in the day to day is too easy in this earthly life. My phone is too easy to grab, but the question that arose this morning is a good reminder of James 4:4.
“You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.”
Reflecting on James 4:4 is a hard reminder that constantly allowing my phone to be a top daily priority is a choice to cheat on my relationship with God, replacing it with a relationship of to a worldly possession. I’m challenging myself to treat my relationship with God like I’ve treated my phone- searching for Him when I haven’t seeked Him in the last hour, checking for notifications on how I can serve Him and be of service to others throughout the day, being alert for His messages and calls that may have been missed while performing a daily task.
I encourage you to reflect on the time you’re offering to your phone verses the time you’re offering up to a relationship with God everyday. Do you panic when you realize you think you’ve lost Him amid the piles of daily tasks the same way you panic when you think you’ve lost your phone? Do you frantically search for Him like you do your phone?
Do you panic when you realize you think you’ve lost Him amid the piles of daily tasks the same way you panic when you think you’ve lost your phone? Do you frantically search for Him like you do your phone?