I want to say right up, I am not against technology, but technology is either our greatest friend, or our worst enemy depending on how we use it. There is no greater example of its impact on our homes than what smart-phones are doing to our children. Digital addiction is caused when a teenager develops an unhealthy obsession with digital stimuli which begins to alter their body and brain chemistry and causes irritability, withdrawal, a mental dumbing down, and disinterest in socializing with real people or participating in real events. Our phone has become our idol, and we become very much like that which we worship.
Ask yourself honestly, are my kids obsessed with their smartphones? How much time daily are they on their phone on social media, YouTube, or gaming? Do you find they are easily distracted or struggle with not being able to think deeply? Is their memory sharp? How is their overall attitude? Can they read more than a few lines of text without getting bored or irritated? Think twice when you give your kids a smartphone or tablet, because once you give it, it is very difficult to take back. The words of Gollum in Lord Of The Rings ring true… “My Precious…”!
Tony Reinke has written a great book,12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You (Crossway Publishing, 2017), where he addresses the cultural obsession with smartphones and how it is changing us forever. From 2007 to 2017, one billion iPhones were sold. As of 2015, 86% of 18 to 29 year-olds own a smart-phone. 36% surveyed admitted to being online almost constantly. People check their phones every 4.3 minutes.Even when there has been no beep alert on our phone, we still check it anyway out of habit. 73% of Christians admitted they check their phone before they even open their Bible. Our digital addiction keeps us from things we ought to be doing.
The more distracted we are digitally, the more displaced we become spiritually. Technology makes us think we can indulge in anonymous vices without any consequences. Smartphones make sexual sin more discreet. What people used to have to go to a bookstore to look at, now can be seen in the privacy of our own space. Out of 8,000 professing Christians who were surveyed between the ages of 18-29, 50% of the men and 10% of the women admitted to porn use on their smartphones. What happens on our smart-phones, is the true exposure of our own hearts. “As a man thinketh, so is he.”
Although technology is not in the Bible, the principles in Scripture on how to address this issue in our present culture are very applicable. Psalms 101:2-4 says, “I will behave wisely in a perfect way… I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set nothing wicked (worthless) before my eyes… I will not know wickedness.” Psalms 119:37 says, “Turn my eyes away from worthless things.” Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life.”
The New Testament also includes passages that are helpful for making decisions about technology. Luke 11:34-36 says, “Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light, but when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. See to it then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you.” 1 Corinthians 6:12 “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.”
What is the cost to all this digital magic instantly at our fingertips? Should we be concerned about our children? Yes, but maybe we should be more concerned about ourselves. How are our smartphones changing us forever? Are we and our children becoming home made zombies without knowing its true effect? May God give us righteous discernment as we walk the tight-rope of this technological age. May we seek His wisdom on how to live rightly during these challenging times. Through repentance and faith, may we gain a new heart and clean conscience before God trusting in what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross.
Dale Payne has been the Family Pastor of Visalia Evangelical Free Church for the last 19 years. He has been married 34 years to Linda and has six grown children, two grandchildren with two more on the way. His passion is Biblical counseling with families with a focus on developing healthy marriages and joyful parenting, and building up godly men to lead their homes well.
