12 Ways your phone is changing you- #12 We Lose Our Place in Time

Intro

Good evening.

Welcome to Harvest Students. My Name is Junior, and I’m the Assistant Pastor of discipleship here at Harvest.

I am usually excited about being here, because I get to spend time with you guys, getting to know each other, having fun in the process, and learning how to follow God.

So Today we come to the end of our Series called “12 ways your Phone is changing you”. I don’t know about you but i’ve learn some things over the past few months that will stick with me, for instance:

Chapter 1 - We are addicted to distractions - I’ve learned that there is a habit forming behavior that makes me want to run to my phone every time it rings or vibrates, and i don’t always need to do that.

Chapter 2 - We ignore our own flesh and blood - I’ve learned that people are more important than things. We know that instinctively but we don’t always show that in practice.

Chapter 3 - We Crave Immediate Approval - I’ve learned that I am not the center of the universe, it is ok when my posts aren’t liked, or commented on.

These are just to name a few things

Chapter 4 We Lose Our Literacy

Chapter 5 We Feed on the Produced

Chapter 6 We Become Like What We “Like”

Chapter 7 We Get Lonely

Chapter 8 We Get Comfortable in Secret Vices

Chapter 9 We Lose Meaning

Chapter 10 We Fear Missing Out

Chapter 11 We Become Harsh to One Another

Slides

Chapter 1 - We are addicted to distractions

Chapter 2 - We ignore our own flesh and blood

Chapter 3 - We Crave Immediate Approval

These are just to name a few things

Chapter 4 We Lose Our Literacy

Chapter 5 We Feed on the Produced

Chapter 6 We Become Like What We “Like”

Chapter 7 We Get Lonely

Chapter 8 We Get Comfortable in Secret Vices

Chapter 9 We Lose Meaning

Chapter 10 We Fear Missing Out

Chapter 11 We Become Harsh to One Another

So today our focus is on Way # 12 We lose our place in time

There are 2 passages of scripture in the bible that guides us in the way we use our time:

Colossians 4:5 ESV

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.

Ephesians 5:15–16 ESV

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Ephesians 5:16 ESV

making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

The passage in Colossians speaks to making the best use of our time as one of the ways we use wisdom. So it should be read like this: “Walk in wisdom, especially in the presence of persons who are not Christians, one of the ways you can do this is to make the best use of your time”

The second passage in Ephesians it says: “ 15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

In other words, give great attention to the way you live. Don’t be unwise. Be Wise. Make the best use of your time, because time is running out, as a matter of fact you’ve already wasted a lot of time, you don’t have one more second to waste.

Now when God is talking about a person who is unwise or a fool, he’s not talking about a person who is limited intellectually. You can be bright academically but still a fool, as a matter of fact some of the most brilliant scholars are fools: Stephen Hawkins, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens etc. These men have brilliant minds but when it comes to the most important things in life, they are foolish.

To live morally is to live wisely. Biblically, an “unwise man” is named so because of unbelief and sinful actions (; ). He lives apart from God and against God’s law (, ; ), and can’t comprehend the truth () or his true condition (, ). Certainly believers are to avoid behaving like fools (see ; ).

So these 2 passages gives us a wealth of insight into what God thinks about how we should use our time.

So How does our Phones make us lose our place in time?

With our smartphones we are conditioned to reflexively respond to whatApp messages, text blasts, snaps on almost all social media platforms, breaking news, youtube notifications etc.

Like trying to focus on flashes of images as we scroll over social media feeds, discussion groups etc. you name it. In chasing after these fragments/pieces we simply lose time.

Losing time surfing social media: instagram, youtube, facebook + messenger, email, whatsApp, snapchat.

The other day i was at home, i had just dropped Porsia off to work, and got back home around 9am, it was my day off so i thought let me catch up on what’s going on. I checked the ample social media accounts i had, watched a few youtube videos, i thought i felt a little hungry but was curious as to how i could have been hungry that quickly, i just had breakfast just around 8am. glanced at the time on my phone, you wanna know what time it was? 12:30 a few minutes to 1pm.

That’s how these things suck you in, one day you’re a teen and the next time you came out of the social media glance it’s you 19th birthday. And the big question is have you accomplished what God wanted for your life by that age?

Here are 2 ways our phones makes us lose our place in time:

1. We lose track of time.

Ephesians 5:15–16 ESV

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Think about it, in one moment we:

So we are taking in so many things at a certain speed that we track of time.

Think about it, in one moment:

an email from your teacher comes in about some thing in your school work.

a message from someone of the opposite sex that you’re attracted to.

breakings news of a tragic accident

a notification that your battery is low

a popular video of your favorite celebrity

a new tune by your favorite artist

a dumb question in a chat room about something already shared in the chat room

a judgy chain message about how you should live your life

a not so interesting graphic for a not so interesting event

You name it! All of this information coming your way while having to deal with what’s happening off of our phones is stessful. I feel your pain! This is exhausting!

We talked earlier about how God wants us to spend our time.

Colossians 4:5 ESV

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.

Two ways you can make the best use of our time:

Think of it as precious - Sometimes we behave as though we have all the time n the world. Instead of using my phone doing my devotions, connecting with family, helping others, serving at church etc. i’m using my phone to sin, waste time, talk foolishness, gossip, slander, take in stuff that is not good for my physical, emotional, spiritual, or psychological health. You should be using your phones to plan your day wisely.

efficiently

Treat it as precious - you can do this by planning how you use your day, and sticking to it. Plan by starting with your time not your task - tasks are unlimited, time is limited.

Someone said the most valuable asset we have is time. Not money, we lose money sometimes and we get it back sometimes, but time lost can never be regained.

Don’t lose track of time because it’s precious.

Let’s look at Ecclesiastes 3.

Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 ESV

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

ECCLES

King Solomon observed that our souls must handle being tossed back and forth, because life is a series of changing seasons that require changing responses.

And God created us to carry multiple emotions simultaneously, such as joy and sorrow. But in the digital age, those seasons come at us too quickly, and because they hit and leave so soon, we seldom feel the weight of our emotions.

But in the digital age, those seasons come at us too quickly, and because they hit and leave so soon, we seldom feel the weight of our emotions. Behind the safety of our phone screens, we can more easily shield ourselves “from direct contact with the pain, the fears and the joys of others, and the complexity of their personal experiences.” This doesn’t make us suppress emotion; it makes us express “contrived emotion.” 2

Behind the safety of our phone screens, we can more easily shield ourselves “from direct contact with the pain, the fears and the joys of others, and the complexity of their personal experiences.” This doesn’t make us suppress emotion; it makes us express “contrived emotion.” We become shallow.

Instead of learn how to have a meaningful conversation with a friend who lost their loved one, we become stuck to just sharing a teary eyed emoji.

Instead of celebrating what you loved about your friends humor we become limited to just sharing an LOL.

We become shallow.

Reinke, Tony. 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You (p. 179). Crossway. Kindle Edition.

Not only that NO. 2

2. We cut ourselves off from God’s timeline.

When we use our phones to sin we cut ourselves off from God’s timeline. What do i mean by that?

For those of you doing economics or anything related to the economy, you may have heard the term “the invisible hand”.

The phrase invisible hand was introduced by Adam Smith in his book 'The Wealth of Nations'. He assumed that an economy can work well in a free market scenario where everyone will work for his/her own interest.

That word there economy before Adam Smith was ever dreamt to be born, is found in the bible. For example in

Ephesians 3:9 ESV

and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things,

eph 3:9

that’s the word plan translated from the greek word oikonomia - it means managing the affairs of a group of people.

In other words God has orchestrated this plan with you in it. And when we sin we go astray from that plan, leaving us open to all of sins consequences.

We walk away from God’s timeline.

Take a look at this video

So you see Barry runs out of his timeline and everything changes.

Conclusion

In truth, the automated voice inside of my smartphone can find a local restaurant for me or tell me when to leave in order to beat the traffic. But my phone can never fulfill my greatest needs in life. My phone (like any technology) cannot explain why I exist, cannot define the end and aim of my life, cannot tell me if I’ve lost my way, cannot order my life priorities, and cannot tell me what choices in life are morally right or wrong.

God wants you to stick to His plan, His economy. If we don’t the consequences are fatal. You can have even more regrets than you already have.

Invitation

1. Not a Christian- If you are here today, and you know that if you die today you will not spend eternity with Jesus, but in hell, and you want to be a follower of Christ, you want your sins forgiven, you want your sins taken away, you want to become a disciple of Jesus. Let us pray with you today.

2. Christians - If you know you’ve been addicted to your phones, distant from your family, harsh to others, you’ve lost your place in time. you don’t know where you are in your Christian journey, let us pray fo you.

In truth, the automated voice inside of my smartphone can find a local restaurant for me or tell me when to leave in order to beat the traffic. But my phone can never fulfill my greatest needs in life. My phone (like any technology) cannot explain why I exist, cannot define the end and aim of my life, cannot tell me if I’ve lost my way, cannot order my life priorities, and cannot tell me what choices in life are morally right or wrong.

Reinke, Tony. 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You (p. 194). Crossway. Kindle Edition.

Small Group:

In an act of courageous self-criticism, I must ask three questions:

Ends: Do my smartphone behaviors move me toward God or away from him?

Influence: Do my smartphone behaviors edify me and others, or do they build nothing of lasting value?

Servitude: Do my smartphone behaviors expose my freedom in Christ or my bondage to technique?

Reinke, Tony. 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You (p. 194). Crossway. Kindle Edition.