A 5-Day plan to change your relationship with technology.
HarperCollins/Zondervan/Thomas Nelson
Day 1
Scriptures: John 4:1-26, Luke 19:1-10, John 8:1-11, Luke 17:11-19
Notice
Have you ever thought about the fact that most of us notice things way less than we used to? Let’s not just focus on screen time. How about how the screens interrupt us from noticing? They keep us from noticing two very important and necessary things: the beauty and the brokenness of the world around us. And both are vital aspects of being human.
We need to be noticing both. . . .
This is one thing that Jesus did so well.
He noticed. . . .
He walked at three miles an hour, and he took time to notice those who needed to be noticed.
He noticed the woman at the well.
He noticed that she was thirsty for more than just water—she was thirsty for love and acceptance. And he gave her both.
He noticed the tax collector, Zacchaeus, who was completely despised by his own community (and for good reason). But Jesus noticed the good inside Zacchaeus and his longing for forgiveness. Once again, Jesus gave what was needed.
He noticed the woman who was caught in adultery and filled with fear and shame as she was about to be stoned. But because he noticed her, he offered her grace and mercy.
He noticed the lepers who were outcasts from society. He noticed their pain and isolation and offered them healing and acceptance.
Jesus’ ability to notice people was central to his calling.
Prayer
Father, thank you for sending Jesus to be a model for me, and please help me follow his example as I notice those around me. Amen.
Day 2
Scriptures: Luke 5:15-16, Mark 6:31, Matthew 14:23
Solitude
I believe that solitude is hardwired into the human experience. If you are a believer in something greater than yourself, you would say that God created us with solitude as a major pillar in our existence.
But we have wiped it out.
And you know what? It’s not necessarily our relationship with our phones that is the problem. Dare I say that the root of the problem is our relationship with solitude? It’s like when you hire a nutritionist, and after two days of eating great you slip back into old habits. And suddenly you begin avoiding this nutritionist at all costs. Even though you know this person is bringing you advice and accountability that’s necessary and good for you, you would just rather be numb and lazy. Just like we know that a conversation with our nutritionist is going to call attention to our poor eating habits, we all know that time spent in solitude is going to call attention to things in our lives that we really don’t want to confront.
Do you think that maybe we don’t know what to do with the wrestling that solitude brings? A life without wrestling feels like a safer life, right? Well, maybe it’s safer in some respects, but I can tell you that it’s a dangerous threat when it comes to your ability to simply be. . . .
Reclaiming some sort of solitude in your life may seem almost impossible. But let me tell you something, . . . not only is solitude available to you, it’s going to produce more living your life instead of your life living you.
Prayer
Lord, I want to spend some time in solitude and quiet so that I can grow closer to you. Please help me as I wrestle with some of my uncomfortable thoughts, and please use my time of solitude to glorify you. Amen.
Day 3
Scriptures: Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalms 9:10, Psalms 31:14-15, Psalms 28:7
Trust
Let’s talk about hesitation for a minute. Without trust in God and his promises, we end up hesitating so much more, right? We hesitate and wait when we should be trusting and moving. Sometimes I wonder how many of Jesus’ disciples would have dropped their nets and followed him if they’d been able to check him out on Instagram before he showed up. Would they have even gone out to hear him speak if they’d watched all his YouTube sermons and read the negative comments left by people who critique sermons full-time?
Hesitation is a consequence of believing we are in control. When it comes to God, since we have so many answers at our fingertips in Google, we crave more tangible assurance of God and his ways. And when the proof isn’t evident and doesn’t show up right away, what do we do? We start grasping at control to give us a false sense of safety. And our phones provide the means of that control. But while we’re waiting for all the answers we need to fall into place or endlessly researching the bottomless pit of information and opinions that is the internet, we end up frozen. Not moving. Not risking. Waiting for blessed assurance before we take one step toward where we were supposed to be going in faith a long time ago. . . .
If you’ve been waiting for “the right time” to trust God and do the next thing, my question to you is, how much time are you spending in his Word versus your phone? Listen, I am the king of spending time with my phone, so I ask the question with no judgment. However, I do ask it with plenty of experience, and here’s why: when we aren’t connected to the world 24-7, we actually have to exist in a place of trust.
Prayer
Father, I have often tried to have control over things that should only be in your hands. Please forgive me for not trusting you, and please prompt me to turn to you in all things. Amen.
Day 4
Scriptures: John 4:1-26, Luke 19:1-10, Luke 10:38-42
Presence
Presence. We’ve lost it. But we can get it back.
Of course, we can remind ourselves of Jesus and his powerful ability to be fully present with those around him. We can take cues from his life and see just how powerful presence can be.
Take the woman at the well (John 4:1–26). Jesus had just shown up in Samaria and was exhausted. So he decided to sit by a well. Samaritans and Jews traditionally had some animosity between them. When a Samaritan woman approached, it would have been easy and understandable in that culture and time for Jesus to avoid engaging with her at any level.
But he broke all social barriers and initiated a conversation with this woman. He asked for a drink. He listened intently and without judgment as she told of her struggles. He absolutely shocked her with his knowledge of her life situation, which was not only a miracle but also an expression of care for what she was going through. And then he offered her living water symbolizing spiritual fulfillment. The woman took off, leaving her water jug, to tell her community about the life-changing conversation she had just had with a fully present Jesus.
In fact, Jesus made a habit of being fully present with people that hardly anybody wanted to be present with. His interaction with Zacchaeus the tax collector is another great example. Zacchaeus was up in a tree looking at Jesus when Jesus did a very present thing. . . . Long story short, Jesus’ presence with Zacchaeus changed his entire life (Luke 19:1–10). After a career characterized by greed and dishonesty, he ended up pledging to give half of his possessions to the poor and to repay everyone he’d ever cheated.
That is some radical transformation that happened simply because of presence.
Our presence has the ability to change not only our lives but the lives of others. I want some more of that, please. That life-changing presence.
So be free of the presence trap that is our phones and their constant notifications. You could change another’s life—someone that you might not even notice if you weren’t looking up.
Prayer
Lord, I realize I have missed so many things because I have failed to be present. Please help me focus on being present, and please let my presence point others to you. Amen.
Day 5
Scriptures: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Hebrews 10:24-25, Galatians 6:2, Romans 12:4-5
Community
I talk to a lot of very connected people—people who, from a distance, look like they have more friends than they know what to do with. But most of them tell me they are actually lonely and wish they had more friends. We are the most digitally connected generation in the history of planet Earth and it would not be a stretch to say that we are also the loneliest.
Watching groups of friends choose to stare at their phones rather than engaging with each other when they are together is, if you think about it, insane. If you had beamed into our current reality from 1980 and saw friends doing that, you would think they were avoiding each other because they didn’t want to be together. This is a problem.
The Amish will never have this problem because they won’t allow themselves to. They aren’t anti-technology; they are pro-community. So they weigh the potential value of every piece of new technology before allowing it.
We don’t have to give up technology to have community, but we can be more intentional about the limits we place on technology that may be hindering us in finding true community. If you don’t have a thriving community where you live, I have good news—you can find one. If you do have a thriving community, I have good news for you too—you can make it better.