As we approach the end of December, many begin to reflect on the year. Perhaps you do this as you prepare for your goals for the upcoming year. What went right? What went wrong? What do I want to do differently next year? Amongst all these questions of reflection, consider this question: “What if I did not spend so much time on my phone?”
The average American spends 5 hours a day on their phone. To put this into perspective, that is 1,825 hours a year. If you spend this much time on your phone, 76 FULL days of your 365 days in a year will be spent looking at a screen. What if you took those 5 hours a day, and dedicated 2 to Bible Study, 1 to fellowship, 1 to service, and 1 to encouraging our brethren? Think about how much more effective we could be in using our “talents” to glorify God!
In Matthew 25:14-30, we read of a slave given a talent by his master. Instead of using his talent to profit his master, he buried it out of fear. This upset his master and led to the punishment of the slave. No matter how many talents we have, God expects us to use them for His glory. A failure to do so will result in our condemnation.
Brothers and sisters, our phones are causing us to “bury our talents.” Instead of using our hands to work for God, we use them to scroll. Instead of using our minds to meditate on His Word, we “kill brain cells” by chasing small hits of dopamine in videos and posts. Instead of connecting with our spiritual family, we seek approval and relationships through likes, comments, and shares. As we look to the next year and reflect on our lives, please consider how much more we can be doing for God if we would just set our phones down and start using that time for the Lord.
-Bryce Mayfield