Servant to what?

I found myself watching ‘The Jonathan Ross Show’ this weekend, something I don’t normally do, and Joanna Lumley was one of the guests. They ended up discussing the use of mobile phones, and how when their phone notifies them of anything, people jump immediately to respond. You can see the interview below (from 5:38 – 7:20).

Last night, I was engaged in conversation and one of the group explained how they has deleted their facebook. Why? Because of the way it can take over people’s lives and the ‘Like’ culture it creates. We began discussing the why’s and what’s of people’s behaviour in regard to these sites: why do we post something on facebook? Why do we become disappointed if someone doesn’t ‘like’ or comment on our post? What is our motivation for posting information? Why are we still ‘friends’ with people we haven’t had contact with for more than a year? And many other such questions. In the end, a lot of us admitted that we very rarely use facebook because of all these issues.

I’m doing a 34 mile sponsored walk next month (find out why and how to sponsor here: https://www.justgiving.com/Rebecca-Perry1/), and so I’ve been completing training walks on my days off. Although I take my phone with me in case of an emergency, it remains in my bag from the moment I set off until the moment I return. I also leave it on silent so that I’m not distracted or tempted to check it while I’m out. The experience is quite freeing. I no longer feel like the servants in ‘Downton Abbey’, at the beck and call of my phone. For those few hours, I am free to be in my own mind and work through problems and concerns without becoming distracted. It also grants me the opportunity to speak with God and actually listen and wait for him to respond.

In Matthew 6:24, Jesus says “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (NIV)

While Jesus is speaking about money, we can relate this to our relationship with our mobile phones (or other internet enabled devices). Responding to our phones can end up consuming all of our time if we are not careful. Our quiet times can be interrupted by a notification from our phone, and we never get back to it. Our phones can never leave our sides and if it does, we feel like we’re missing a limb! Is this really healthy? How beneficial is it to our relationship with God?

Upon reflection, I’m now trying to cut down on the time I spend with my phone directly at my side. And if I do have it on me, I will ignore it if I’m with someone else as my focus should be on them, not on what’s happening with my phone. I’ve already started with my walks, but I’m going to continually seek times in my week when I turn my phone off or leave it completely out of site so I can seek ways to serve God more whole heartedly.

We are God’s servants, not our mobile phones.

I encourage you to spend some time this week reflecting on your own relationship with your mobile phone. Are you its servant? Can you leave it away from your side? Or is there something else that you are servant too?