Culture is feeding us an insatiable desire for power. The use of a 3×6 phone has invited us to an isolated life where the habit of checking our status has birthed a new obsession. Addicted to the like. Addicted to the following. A heart or a thumbs up has somehow profoundly replaced our self-worth. We are validating our lives by the approval of someone, whom we might not even know, to have the final say in our significance.
I attend Crossroads, a church in Cincinnati, where they dove into this fascinating topic of technology over the weekend. I LOVED it! A resonation of Truths fascinated me over concepts I had never recognized before. As a church on the cutting edge of technology, I was intrigued to hear their view on this cultural technology epidemic. They have a secret and you can know it too.
Gain The Wisdom
The message is a must-see – a profound topic to stir the senses and spur the soul to action. Kyle Ranson delivered a phenomenal message of how our power exceeds our wisdom. Technology can be defined as tools to increase in power and in most cases, this is a fabulous thing. Think of the medical advances, automobile expansions, and even home security enhancements. These are great developments bringing enhancements to our everyday lives.
However, our wisdom is not increasing as fast as technology is. For example, how many times do we cringe in a movie when someone obtains something, that we as the audience, know they can’t handle? Kyle gives a MARVELous example to this very question! To make it more personal, how many times are we trying to educate our teenagers on what not to be a part of? Why – because their wisdom does not exceed their power!
We are supplying teenagers with these empowering phones when as parents, we also struggle with the power they possess ourselves. These little modes of transportation can take us places we have never been and in some cases should never go. So much of technology today leaves us feeling worse about ourselves. We go to social media and allow others comments to become measuring sticks of our self-worth. Their opinions become scales of our significance. All of this making us feel powerless. Yet, we have to ask ourselves, am I investing any time into what God says about me?
God’s Word encourages us to seek wisdom and even declares the LORD gives wisdom in Proverbs 2:6. We gain wisdom through a constant process of growing. First, we must trust and honor God. Second, we must realize that the Bible reveals wisdom to us. Third, we must make a lifelong series of right choices and avoid moral pitfalls. Fourth, when we make sinful or mistaken choices, we must learn from our errors and recover. People don’t develop all aspects of wisdom at once. But we can pray for all aspects of wisdom and take the steps to develop them in our lives. (NIV Life Application Study Bible)
Be The Change
If we are going to live real, authentic, confident, bold, and courageous lives – it will be due to time spent with our Heavenly Father who created us as declared in Psalm 139:13. Likes and follows don’t satisfy. Only God can satisfy our souls.
So, how do we change it? How do we increase our wisdom to match our power? It is simple – The Bible! It is The Book of wisdom. It is The Book that transforms lives. It is The Book to supply a balanced life. It is the Book that will equip us to gain wisdom before we gain power.
James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ” By wisdom, James is talking not only about knowledge but about the ability to make wise decisions in difficult circumstances. Whenever we need wisdom, we can pray to God, and He will generously supply what we need. Christians don’t have to grope around in the dark, hoping to stumble upon answers. We can ask for God’s wisdom to guide our choices. (NIV Life Application Study Bible)
Life gets crazy. Life gets busy. Life gets out of balance. But…beginning our days with a few moments in the presence of God, being still before the throne and asking for His wisdom prepares us to handle our phones.
This message rustled my soul, and my prayer is that we start a change to always put The Throne of God Before the Phone!
#ThroneBeforePhone
Real Success
Our lives are determined one decision at a time. The world will give us several choices, but there is only ONE true way. 1 Corinthians 3:19 – “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.” In this passage, Paul was not telling the Corinthian believers to neglect the pursuit of knowledge. He was warning them that if worldly wisdom holds them back from God, it is not wisdom at all. God‘s way of thinking is far more valuable, even though it may seem foolish to the world. (NIV Life Application Study Bible)
If you want wisdom, you must decide to go after it. It takes resolve – a determination not to abandon the search once you begin no matter how difficult the road may become. Progress will follow every time you pursue God, and I don’t know about you, but I think that is a good return on investment.
Be the change! Set-aside that family time you have been putting off. Visit your parents. Take the vacation. Invest in the lives of the ones who truly matter. Most importantly, choose the Throne of God before your phone…and everything else will fall into place.
#ThroneBeforePhone
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