Habits

Do you have a desire to be strong in your love for the Lord? Do you strive to be faithful in obedience to Him, looking forward in strong hope in the His name? Do you want to live each day with habits and routines that give you a sense of worship? 

It seems like a lofty ideal but not a practical way to live the everydayness of our lives. Each day we get up, rush around, take care of our families, go to work, rush around some more, filled with stress, and worry and anxiety, usually exhausted by the end of the day. This is our normal life. 

 How do we get relief? Often by picking up our phones. We develop a mindless routine of scrolling that shapes our thinking. It becomes such a habit that it could almost be called a form of worship – if you define worship as regarding something with great respect, honor, or devotion. In fact, of the 4 definitions for ‘worship’, one seems particularly pertinent- “to treat with great adoration”. I don’t think any of us can deny being guilty of adoring our phones and the content and distraction it brings us.  

Here’s what I’ve found, though. When I reach for my phone upon waking, it shapes my thinking. When my phone is the last thing I view before closing my eyes at night, it shapes my thinking. When I have a few minutes between tasks or need a break, I pick up my phone and I scroll. That, too, shapes my thinking. Unknowingly, I have developed a ritual that forms who and what I think about and exactly how I think about it. This happens even if your focus is on things that seem  relatively benign like social media, current news, and consumerism. Looking at this, I had to admit that over time, I have become a worshiper of the small screen. Have I taken time to think about what the end result of this habit will be? 

I was first convicted of this when I was visiting with a friend on the phone. He observed that so many of his Christian friends spent more time talking about politics and world events than they spent actually talking about things relating to God and their spiritual lives. Convicted in my spirit, I confessed to him that I was guilty of that same thing. I was on Twitter multiple times a day soaking in the latest news – and even admitted that every time I checked it, the news was singing the very same song as the last time I checked- it was just singing the next verse of the same song.

Right then and there, still on the phone, I said, “That’s it! I’m fasting off of Twitter/X. I don’t want the news to be my topic of discussion more than my spiritual life.” That was over two months ago, and I have stayed true to my fast. The beginning was the most difficult as I had to break years of a daily habit. But now, I don’t even think of it any more. When people ask me, “What do you think about so-and-so in the news?” I am almost delighted to say, “I don’t know anything about it.” The best part? I don’t even feel uninformed the way I thought I would. I feel free. 

Curious as to where else I spent the majority of time on my phone, I checked the settings and looked at the categories of my screen time usage. I was shocked to see I had been spending an average of over four hours per day on social media and playing games. Whoa! What a shock! And here I was, I thinking I was so busy! I was always rushing from this responsibility to that responsibility – never quite having enough time to do all the thing that I needed to do, much less have time for the things I wanted to do. To my surprise, I uncovered an average of four extra hours per day that I had been mindlessly wasting. I had gradually slipped into a habit of scrolling down a rabbit trail that took my mind into wastelands. (Often referred to as “doomscrolling”) Discovering these 4 hours I had been wasting each day was a treasure trove of time that I could now use for the good things that I wanted to do! 

Immediately, Romans 12:2 popped in my head-  “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

It’s true. My phone habits needed to change. From the time I wasted with device in hand to the worldly malformation of my thinking, I determined to exchange this habit and become the stronger spiritual woman I desired to be. Some habits simply need to be examined and replaced with spiritual worship that helps me seek God’s kingdom first and love Him more.

Well, as you can imagine, though I did change my habits, I didn’t throw out my phone. But I did form new habits and began to make some positive spiritual changes. First, I began by changing what I looked at on my phone. I got off of my personal Twitter/X completely. I stopped mindlessly scrolling on Facebook and instead joined a Facebook Bible discussion group for women. What I posted on Facebook changed, too, as I started posting spiritually-focused content on my personal page. Then, I started listening to Bible-related podcasts to shape my mind for good things. Instead of picking up my phone to play a game whenever I needed a break, I turned on one of these podcasts or picked up a book on a spiritual topic and I read a few pages. In addition, I began scheduling time for daily prayer.

And yes- It’s true. I still watch a few shorts on YouTube but now, I limit my time. I still play a couple of games every day or two, but again, I limit my time. And what I’ve found is that my life is so much richer because of this change. My mind is more filled with God’s word. My heart is more filled with God’s love. And the hours of my days have more godly purpose as I have more time to love and serve others.

Oh what blessings have come from one simple change of habit – from exchanging the things I can’t keep for what will never change.

Who’s with me? #FastTheUnlast

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