“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be provided for you.” Matthew 6:33
“Girl, put down your phone,” darted across my mind as I was scrolling through social media. It caught me completely off guard. I have to admit the idea of the Holy Spirit calling me “girl” made me laugh. Regardless the nudge from God, was enough to cause me to pause.
Have you ever reached the moment where you know you’ve spent too much time on your phone? I kind of get that, “Ugh” feeling in my stomach. What I recognize is this: the more time I spend scrolling through social media, the more I’m missing out on connecting with who is right in front of me. When God commands us to seek Him first (Matthew 6:33), He is telling us to intentionally pursue His reign or Lordship over our hearts and minds. And, you guessed it, it becomes more and more difficult to do that spending endless amounts of time on social media. I catch myself distracted with my phone a lot.
I have a feeling you can relate. It goes a little something like this…
“Let me see what’s up on social media today.”
“Oh, that makes me angry. I can’t believe they posted that!”
“I wish we could go there/do that.”
“Their life looks so perfect and easy.”
Maybe even, “Why am I feeling so anxious?”
Or, “Oh my gosh, it’s been half an hour!”
It’s information overload, and we feel it. BIG TIME.
I have to ask myself the question, “What am I honestly seeking when I pick up my phone to hop on social media anyway?” As I’ve examined my heart, I’ve found that at the most foundational level, I’m looking for a no-strings-attached “connection and satisfaction.” Oftentimes, I seek a “quick” escape from my own reality.
Friends, hear this: the majority of the connection and satisfaction we find on social media is a COUNTERFEIT. It is a complete fake in comparison to what God offers us in communion with Him and His people. It grieves our Father’s heart when we make the swap. It affects our real life relationships negatively. Let me clarify that I’m not saying social media connection is all bad. What I am saying is we have to be careful as we navigate our time with it because it can creep in and take away from the physical FaceTime we need with others.
We were created with an innate desire for deep connection. But in our sin, we often seek a surface level of connectivity because, simply put, it takes a whole lot less work and self-sacrifice to connect with a screen than it does an actual human being. We end up “connecting” with a whole host of things on social media that may not be best for us. It’s easy to access, addictive, and doesn’t require us to give of ourselves, which makes it a huge temptation. True connection requires much more of us.
Social media “connection” feels like it doesn’t cost us anything. But is that true? What does it actually cost us? What does it cost me when I check up on what’s happening on Facebook rather than play a game with my children or talk them through an issue they’re having with one another? What does it cost me when I respond to comments on posts rather than be involved in connection with my husband? What does it cost when it’s time to make dinner, but I’m knee deep in an article, so dinner is late, and my family is hungry and irritated (James 4:17)? Social media connection may feel free, but it is a COSTLY counterfeit that we need to be aware of before our real-life relationships are plunged into complete ruin.
Our longing to connect is meant to be filled first by communion with Jesus (John 17:3, John 10:10), and secondly, authentic connection with His people (Hebrews 10:23-25). Without the work of true human connection, we find ourselves deceived by counterfeits. The more we can put down our phones, and focus on the eternal, the more authentically connected and deeply satisfied we will be.
Remember, “Our citizenship is in Heaven,” (Phil. 3:20, Hebrews 13:14). Although we do engage in earthly citizenship, it should not consume us. We should be consumed with Christ, His agenda, and wherever that leads our earthly lives much more than we are ever consumed with what we’re scrolling through on our phones. Our God desires a deep, intimate connectedness with us. So much so that Jesus prays His desire for oneness amongst and with us in John 17.
The more we put down our phones, the more we can pick up our family and friends – our physical reality. The more we free up our hands, the more we can say yes to the connection with God we were created for. If you can relate, drop a comment and let’s talk about a plan for how we can tame our phone usage and social media consumption. I’d love to hear your ideas. Girl, we’re in this together! We have the power to put down those phones, seek first the God we were created to be satisfied by, and connect authentically with the people He has given us to love.
Always Cheering you on!
