Expulsive Power of a New Affection

The best way to defeat our sin is not strength of will - it is to replace our desire for lesser things with a greater desire for Jesus.

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These are excerpts from a sermon by Thomas Chalmers, a Scottish pastor in the early 19th century. Chalmers encourages the reader to let go of the things of the world. He argues that it is harder to stop sinning by mere self-denial than it is to stop sinning by replacing that affection with a greater affection — the love of Jesus. If we love Jesus more, the things of the world will slowly pass away.

Expulsive Power of a New Affection

There are two ways in which a practical moralist may attempt to displace from the human heart its love of the world—either by a demonstration of the world's vanity, so as that the heart shall be prevailed upon simply to withdraw its regards from an object that is not worthy of it; or, by setting forth another object, even God, as more worthy of its attachment, so as that the heart shall be prevailed upon not to resign an old affection, which shall have nothing to succeed it, but to exchange an old affection for a new one. My purpose is to show, that from the constitution of our nature, the former method is altogether incompetent and ineffectual and that the latter method will alone suffice for the rescue and recovery of the heart from the wrong affection that domineers over it.

A Second Affection is More Powerful

The ascendant power of a second affection will do, what no exposition however forcible, of the folly and worthlessness of the first, ever could effectuate. And it is the same in the great world. We shall never be able to arrest any of its leading pursuits, by a naked demonstration of their vanity. It is quite in vain to think of stopping one of these pursuits in any way else, but by stimulating to another. In attempting to bring a worldly man intent and busied with the prosecution of his objects to a dead stand, we have not merely to encounter the charm which he annexes to these objects - but we have to encounter the pleasure which he feels in the very prosecution of them. It is not enough, then, that we dissipate the charm, by a moral, and eloquent, and affecting exposure of its elusiveness. We must address to the eye of his mind another object, with a charm powerful enough to dispossess the first of its influences, and to engage him in some other prosecution as full of interest, and hope, and congenial activity, as the former. It is this which stamps an impotency on all moral and pathetic declamation about the insignificance of the world.

A man will no more consent to the misery of being without an object, because that object is a trifle, or of being without a pursuit, because that pursuit terminates in some frivolous or fugitive acquirement, than he will voluntarily submit himself to the torture, because that torture is to be of short duration. If to be without desire and without exertion altogether, is a state of violence and discomfort, then the present desire, with its correspondent train of exertion, is not to be got rid of simply by destroying it. It must be by substituting another desire, and another line or habit of exertion in its place—and the most effectual way of withdrawing the mind from one object, is not by turning it away upon desolate and unpeopled vacancy—but by presenting to its regards another object still more alluring.

These remarks apply not merely to love considered in its state of desire for an object not yet obtained. They apply also to love considered in its state of indulgence, or placid gratification, with an object already in possession. It is seldom that any of our tastes are made to disappear by a mere process of natural extinction. At least, it is very seldom, that this is done through the instrumentality of reasoning. It may be done by excessive pampering - but it is almost never done by the mere force of mental determination. But what cannot be destroyed may be dispossessed and one taste may be made to give way to another, and to lose its, power entirely as the reigning affection of the mind.

It is thus, that the boy ceases, at length, to be the slave of his appetite, but it is because a manlier taste has now brought it into subordination—and that the youth ceases to idolize pleasure, but it is because the idol of wealth has become the stronger and gotten the ascendancy and that even the love of money ceases to have the mastery over the heart of many a thriving citizen, but it is because drawn into, the whirl of city polities, another affection has been wrought into his moral system, and he is now lorded over by the love of power. There is not one of these transformations in which the heart is left without an object. Its desire for one particular object may be conquered; but as to its desire for having some one object or other, this is unconquerable. Its adhesion to that on which it has fastened the preference of its regards, cannot willingly be overcome by the rending away of a simple separation. It can be done only by the application of something else, to which it may feel the adhesion of a still stronger and more powerful preference. Such is the grasping tendency of the human heart, that it must have a something to lay hold of—and which, if wrested away without the substitution of another something in its place, would leave a void and a vacancy as painful to the mind, as hunger is to the natural system. It may be dispossessed of one object, or of any, but it cannot be desolated of all.

Let there be a breathing and a sensitive heart, but without a liking and without affinity to any of the things that are around it; and, in a state of cheerless abandonment, it would be alive to nothing but the burden of its own consciousness, and feel it to be intolerable. It would make no difference to its owner, whether he dwelt in the midst of a gay and goodly world; or, placed afar beyond the outskirts of creation, he dwelt a solitary unit in dark and unpeopled nothingness. The heart must have something to cling to—and never, by its own voluntary consent, will it so denude itself of its attachments, that there shall not be one remaining object that can draw or solicit it.

Resolve Is Not Enough

It will now be seen, perhaps, why it is that the heart keeps by its present affections with so much tenacity - when the attempt is, to do them away by a mere process of extirpation. It will not consent to be so desolated. The strong man, whose dwelling-place is there, may be compelled to give way to another occupier—but unless another stronger than he, has power to dispossess and to succeed him, he will keep his present lodgment inviolable. The heart would revolt against its own emptiness. It could not bear to be so left in a state of waste and cheerless insipidity.

The moralist who tries such a process of dispossession as this upon the heart, is thwarted at every step by the recoil of its own mechanism. You have all heard that Nature abhors a vacuum. Such at least is the nature of the heart, that though the room which is in it may change one inmate for another, it cannot be left void without the pain of most intolerable suffering. It is not enough then to argue the folly of an existing affection. It is not enough, in the terms of a forcible or an affecting demonstration, to make good the evanescence of its object. It may not even be enough to associate the threats and the terrors of some coming vengeance, with the indulgence of it. The heart may still resist the every application, by obedience to which, it would finally be conducted to a state so much at war with all its appetites as that of downright inanition.

So to tear away an affection from the heart, as to leave it bare of all its regards and of all its preferences, were a hard and hopeless undertaking—and it would appear, as if the alone powerful engine of dispossession were to bring the mastery of another affection to bear upon it.

One Must Value God Over the World

The love of the world cannot be expunged by a mere demonstration of the world's worthlessness. But may it not be supplanted by the love of that which is more worthy than itself? The heart cannot be prevailed upon to part with the world, by a simple act of resignation. But may not the heart be prevailed upon to admit into its preference another, who shall subordinate the world, and bring it down from its wonted ascendancy? If the throne which is placed there must have an occupier, and the tyrant that now reigns has occupied it wrongfully, he may not leave a bosom which would rather detain him than be left in desolation. But may he not give way to the lawful sovereign, appearing with every charm that can secure His willing admittance, and taking unto himself His great power to subdue the moral nature of man, and to reign over it?

In a word, if the way to disengage the heart from the positive love of one great and ascendant object, is to fasten it in positive love to another, then it is not by exposing the worthlessness of the former, but by addressing to the mental eye the worth and excellence of the latter, that all old things are to be done away and all things are to become new. To obliterate all our present affections by simply expunging them, and so as to leave the seat of them unoccupied, would be to destroy the old character, and to substitute no new character in its place. But when they take their departure upon the ingress of other visitors; when they resign their sway to the power and the predominance of new affections; when, abandoning the heart to solitude, they merely give place to a successor who turns it into as busy a residence of desire and interest and expectation as before - there is nothing in all this to thwart or to overbear any of the laws of our sentient nature - and we see how, in fullest accordance with the mechanism of the heart, a great moral revolution may be made to take place upon it.

Relevant Scriptures

1 John 2:15

John 3:30

Questions for Discussion

  • Do you agree that the human heart is always trying to find something to fill its void?

  • How do you see this play out in our world today?

  • What are some “things of the world” that you have held onto in your heart?

  • What are some ways in which you can increase your love of Jesus to displace these things?

Time Management

By Chi Alpha • June 13, 2025
Download Time Management Why Time Management Matters One of the greatest hindrances to our walks with God is poor time management. Many of us genuinely want to spend scheduled alone time with Jesus each day, but we don’t. We plan to read Scripture, pray, and listen for what God is speaking, but somehow the day gets away from us. Does this sound familiar? You intended to start your day with Jesus... but you stayed up late hanging out with friends, scrolling TikTok or Instagram, or maybe studying into the early morning. You sleep through your alarm, roll out of bed at the last possible second, and rush to class. When you make it back home, you're either exhausted and need a nap or jumping straight into homework. Your mind is racing with everything on your to-do list, and stopping to be still with God feels almost impossible. It’s not that you don’t care and don’t want to spend time with Jesus. The problem is that your schedule (or lack thereof) has taken control of your life. But imagine this: you start each day unhurried, grounded in God’s Word. You show up to class present and peaceful. You don’t feel behind all the time. You’re able to attend Core Group and MNL without guilt. You take a Sabbath on the weekend and truly feel rested. That’s what we want for you. This resource will give you a few simple tools and frameworks that you can use to help you build that kind of life! Quadrants of Time Management Before we get practical with some tools for time management, it helps to understand why our time often feels out of control. One simple framework, the Quadrants of Time Management, divides everything we do into four categories: urgent and important, not urgent but important, urgent but not important, and neither urgent nor important. Most of us live in the extremes—either in crisis mode, constantly reacting to what’s due next (urgent and important), or in escape mode, numbing out with social media or distractions (not urgent, not important). But the goal is to build our lives around the important but not urgent—things like spending time with Jesus, planning ahead, resting well, and growing intentionally. Below are descriptions of each of the four quadrants. As you read over them, take a moment to reflect and consider which quadrants you spend the most time in. Quadrant 1 : Tasks that demand immediate attention and truly matter, like crises that may come up or a project that is due tomorrow. Many important activities become urgent as a result of procrastination or poor planning. This quadrant creates a ton of stress, saps your energy, and leads to burnout. Quadrant 2 : This is where you build a healthy, purposeful life. It includes working on assignments ahead of time, resting well, spending time with Jesus, and investing in relationships. This quadrant increases your peace, productivity, and long-term fruitfulness, but it’s often the most neglected. Quadrant 3 : Things that feel urgent but don’t really matter. These distractions, like responding to group texts or unimportant requests, steal your focus. Learning to say “no” here allows you to prioritize what matters more. Quadrant 4 : Mindless time-wasters like endless scrolling, binge-watching, or lying in bed “rotting.” These activities offer short-term relief, especially when you’re overwhelmed, but too much time here leads to feeling disconnected, discouraged, and stuck. The goal for our time management is to live in Quadrant 2! Living here will: Make your life much less stressful Enable you to thrive as a student, friend, leader, etc. Help your walk with God be more consistent. You’ll no longer be trying to squeeze God in, but able to intentionally walk with Him daily, allowing Him to shape your entire life! But if your time management is a mess, you will struggle to live that kind of life, no matter how much you would like to . So how do we start living more consistently in Quadrant 2? Here are some tools! Anchor Times If you want to live an anchored life—with real devotion to Jesus, real community with others (where you’re committed to Core Group and MNL), and real Kingdom responsibility—it won’t happen by accident. You need anchor times: the fixed, pre-decided parts of your day that keep your schedule aligned with your priorities and keep you anchored in your rhythms. Setting anchor times is what we call a pre-choice, a decision you make before the moment comes . Instead of waiting to see how you feel or what comes up, you’ve already decided what matters most. Pre-choices reflect your values ahead of time, so you’re not constantly scrambling, reacting, or letting the urgent crowd out the important. Here are two of the most powerful (and neglected) anchors of your day: 1. Wake up time I know, this one’s tough, but your morning is one of the most important times in your entire day. It sets your mindset, your pace, and your spiritual posture. To determine your wake up time, start by asking yourself: When is my first class or meeting of the day? What time do I need to be there? How much time do I need to saturate in God’s Word, presence, and love before I start my day? How long does it take to eat, shower, and commute before my first class/meeting? Now, take those answers and build your morning backward. Start with the time you need to be out the door (or in class), and subtract the time it takes for each of those things: time with God, getting ready, eating, commuting, etc. The result? That’s your wake-up time! Pro tip: make sure it’s realistic. You might need to speed up your shower or simplify your breakfast to preserve unhurried time with Jesus without forcing yourself to wake up at an impossible hour. 2. Bedtime The other most powerful anchor time is your bedtime. Sometimes people act like running on no sleep is impressive, but it’s actually unsustainable. You might be able to run on empty for a day, but not for a week. Without sleep, your health, focus, relationships, and ability to hear from God all suffer. It has been said, “A great devotional time with the Lord starts the night before.” If you want your mornings with Jesus to be consistent and unhurried, it begins with the choices you make the night before. Ask yourself: How much sleep do I need to feel well-rested? Based on when I need to wake up and how many hours of sleep I need, when should I go to bed? Time Blocking Setting anchor times creates a strong foundation, and our next tool, time blocking, fills in the rest of your schedule with intention and structure. Imagine this scenario: you get home from class in the afternoon and you’re tired. You don’t feel like studying and you don’t have anything planned until dinner, so you spend the next three hours of “free time” taking a nap, going down the YouTube rabbit hole, or doom-scrolling on Instagram or TikTok. All the while, your assignments are piling up, and your anxiety is too! Now imagine this: at the start of each week, you take some time to list out your upcoming homework, tests, papers, and problem sets. Then, you schedule specific times on your calendar to work on each one. When that time comes, you simply do the task—no last-minute scrambling, no wondering when you’ll get it done. Time blocking is a method of planning your day by assigning each hour to a specific task, activity, or category of work. You’re giving every hour a name before it arrives . It’s a practical way to make pre-choices. To do it, you’ll need a calendar with hourly time slots. We strongly recommend using a digital calendar , like Google Calendar, to keep your week organized. A digital calendar makes it easy to drag and adjust time blocks as things change, it’s always accessible, and you can set reminders so nothing slips through the cracks. Once your digital calendar is ready, start by blocking out your anchor times, your fixed commitments that don’t change — your wake-up time, bedtime, and devotional time, as well as things like classes, labs, work shifts, MNL, and Core Group. Next, look at what academic work is coming up: exams, papers, readings, problem sets, etc. Instead of just hoping you’ll get to it, assign each task a specific block in your week. For example, if you have a test covering four chapters, you might schedule time to review one chapter a day, then assign time the day before to review them all. If a problem set usually takes six hours, break it into two-hour chunks across three days. If there are weekly office hours for a class you’re struggling with, put those on your calendar and make sure you go and ask your professor for help. Be sure to leave some margin in your schedule—time to get from place to place, take a short break, or adjust if something runs long . Time blocking removes the stress of last-minute work and gives you confidence that everything has its place. Green, Yellow, and Red Hours When you time block your week, it’s smart to take your energy levels into account, not just your availability . That’s where this next concept comes in. We all have green, yellow, and red hours. Green hours are when you’re mentally sharp and productive. You’ll want to use your green hours for your hardest tasks, like writing papers, studying for exams, or working on problem sets. Yellow hours are when you still have some fuel in the tank, but you aren’t at your best. They are good for lighter work, like reading assignments, organizing your notes, or creating flashcards. Red hours are your lowest-energy times, when it’s hard to focus and think clearly. Save those times for going to the gym, hanging with friends, or resting. Putting It All Together When you make pre-choices, set anchor times, and time block your week around your energy and priorities, you are going to notice a big difference! These tips won’t fix all your problems, but you’ll likely feel less stressed and more present in your classes, relationships, and with the Lord. We want you to be able to live your life in Quadrant 2! At first, planning like this may feel rigid and limiting. It is true that you may have to say “no” to some things, but planning ahead can give you more freedom. When you’re disciplined during the day, you can say a confident “yes” to rest, spontaneity, and time with your community in the evenings. By choosing to manage your time well, you’re choosing to live fully — present with God, stewarding your studies well, engaged in your community, and investing in your spiritual formation. Questions for Discussion What’s one part of your current schedule that feels out of control or misaligned with your priorities? Which quadrant do you spend most of your time in, and how can you live more in Quadrant 2? Will you take 30 minutes to time block your calendar this week? When? What do you want to make sure gets scheduled first? Who in your life could help you stay accountable to the rhythms you want to build (wake up time, bedtime, devotional time, etc.?

Friendship

By Chi Alpha • October 16, 2024
Download Friendship “Friendship is the ultimate end of our existence and our highest source of happiness. Friendship—with one another and with God—is the supreme pleasure of life, both now and forever…” –Drew Hunter, Author and Pastor For centuries, the Church fathers, ancient philosophers, and theologians have all agreed that friendship is a necessary component of living life to the full. Intentional friendship is defined as friendship mutually governed by Godly (agape) love and is a reflection of his devotion and character. The Bible is filled with great examples of extraordinary friendships involving personal sacrifice, deep intimacy, and incredible joy. Unfortunately, though, our culture is quickly losing the value of friendship. It has become a button on a social media page or a means to climb the social ladder. We all crave deep connections but have lost the art of finding and cultivating true and lasting friendships. Below is a guide meant to help remedy this problem; it also has several questions throughout for you to reflect on as you read. We often think that friendship just happens, but as Drew Hunter demonstrates, in order to recapture the art of friendship, it will take wisdom, work, and a bit of weeding. By doing so, we can restore the profound joy and deep connections that authentic friendships bring to our lives. Wisdom 1. Give Your Friends a Promotion The first bit of wisdom begins by dispelling a common myth about friendship: you are too busy. When friendships falter, it's often due to unbalanced priorities. While homework, your internship, and rest are essential, overemphasizing them can crowd out time for intentional friendships. We always find time for what we truly value, so it's worth examining how we spend our leisure time and considering if we can allocate some of it to nurturing friendships. Prioritizing friends may require sacrificing other enjoyable activities. If someone looked at how you spent your time this past week (where you were, what you did, who you spent time with), what five things would they conclude are most important to you? How highly do your friendships rank? 2. Take a Dose of Realism A second myth about friendship is that we can have a lot of close friends. Since deep friendships require significant time, it's unrealistic to maintain close bonds with everyone. Trying to do so can result in having no close friends at all. Most people we call friends are actually acquaintances. It's important to value these acquaintanceships without feeling guilty about having only a few deep relationships. Meaningful friendships will naturally form with only a small percentage of the people we know. Jesus exemplifies this. He had an especially intimate bond with John, often referred to as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Jesus also prioritized his relationship with Peter, James, and John, revealing a bit of his divine nature to them at the Transfiguration. Beyond these, Jesus had the twelve disciples with whom he spent considerable time; living alongside and teaching them. This tiered approach to relationships shows that even Jesus, God incarnate, prioritized deeper connections with a few while still maintaining meaningful, albeit less intimate, relationships with many. Why is it unrealistic to try to maintain close bonds with many people, and how can this effort actually hinder the development of meaningful friendships? Reflect on the example of Jesus' relationships and think about how you can discern and prioritize your own deeper connections. 3. Realign your Expectations Friendship requires flexibility in how we perceive and manage relationships. Not everyone has the same expectations for a friendship; when these expectations conflict, they can lead to incredible pain and strife. Let's use an analogy. Picture yourself driving down a multi-lane highway, and each lane represents different levels of relationship. We may see someone as a close friend (in our passenger seat), but they might not feel the same way and think of us in their left lane instead. Adjusting our expectations to match theirs is crucial to maintaining the friendship without forcing them to conform to our views. Conversely, if someone sees us as a close friend, even if we initially don't feel the same, we can choose to embrace and honor their perspective. Friendships evolve over time, with people moving between lanes or exiting the highway altogether. This fluidity doesn't negate the commitment inherent in friendships but reflects their dynamic nature, allowing for changes and growth. These changes can be difficult, but recognizing that they are normal can lead to healthy expectations and more joy-filled relationships. Reflect on a time when you and a friend had different expectations for your relationship. How did this difference impact your friendship, and what steps did you take (or could you have taken) to adjust your expectations and maintain the relationship? Work 1. Talk Face-to-Face Friendships thrive through meaningful conversations, especially face-to-face. Unhurried, in-person dialogues are invaluable; as John Calvin noted, “If only he lived close by, a three-hour talk would exceed a hundred letters.” While text messages sustain friendships, phone calls bring us closer by conveying more of our personality, and nothing beats the completeness of face-to-face interactions. In his letters, the apostle John writes, “Though I have much to write to you…I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come to you and talk face-to-face so that our joy may be complete” (2 John 12; 3 John 13-14). Conversations should be open and honest, with trusted friends having access to our deeper, more personal truths. Effective communication involves both asking thoughtful questions and actively listening. Friendships suffer if one person dominates the conversation or if there is a lack of engagement. The best friendships balance serious discussions with light-hearted moments, ensuring a mix of levity and gravity. Think about a recent face-to-face conversation you had with a friend. How did this interaction compare to your typical text or phone conversations in terms of depth and connection? What did you notice about the value of in-person dialogue? What practical ways can you pursue more face-to-face time with friends? 2. Do Things Side-by-Side Friendships flourish through shared experiences and spending time together. To build such experiences, invite friends into your existing activities, like watching shows, walking, or shopping. Creating regular rhythms, such as biweekly coffee or weekly dinners, helps maintain these connections. When regularity is challenging, spontaneity and sacrifice can sustain friendships. Ultimately, the essence of friendship lies in being together, regardless of the activity. Think about a recent shared experience you had with a friend. How did participating in an activity together impact your relationship? What did you learn about your friend or yourself during this time? Consider the idea of creating regular rhythms, such as biweekly coffee or weekly dinners. What regular activities could you establish with your friends to maintain consistent connections? How would these routines fit into your current schedule? 3. Encourage From the Heart Encouragement is vital for sustaining friendships, akin to oxygen for the soul. Like thin air at high altitudes, relationships suffer without affirmation and encouragement while thriving in an atmosphere thick with support. The apostle Paul exemplifies this practice, often affirming individuals in his letters. Although initially uncomfortable, affirming others becomes more natural over time and can transform relational cultures. Written notes are particularly powerful tools for encouragement, providing ongoing support and affirmation, and you can return to and reread them at any time. Think about a time when you received encouragement from a friend. How did it impact your relationship and your personal well-being? What specific aspects of their encouragement were most meaningful to you? Reflect on your own habits of affirming and encouraging others. How comfortable are you with giving genuine affirmation? What steps can you take to make this practice a more natural and regular part of your interactions? Weeding Once we've applied wisdom and put in the necessary work, we must address detrimental elements in our friendships. Like weeding a garden, we must also uproot negative influences to maintain the health of our relationships. 1. Burden Be mindful of inconsiderate behavior in friendships. Proverbs warns against actions that can burden rather than uplift. “ Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning will be counted as cursing (27:14). Such gestures, while well-intentioned, may have bad timing and be perceived as inconsiderate. Also, avoid causing friendship fatigue by not overwhelming friends with excessive time together. “Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house lest he have his fill of you and hate you (25:17).” While spending significant time with friends is important, smothering them can lead to resentment. 2. Gossip Gossip is a poison within friendships, capable of easily dismantling the trust painstakingly built over time and ruining relationships. Proverbs cautions that even the faintest whisper can drive a wedge between the closest of friends (16:28). Such talk corrodes the very essence of friendship by sowing seeds of doubt and apprehension, making people wary of sharing their innermost thoughts and feelings. Indeed, the cornerstone of authentic friendship lies in the sacred trust shared between friends—a bond forged through years of shared experiences, vulnerabilities, and confidences. To breach this trust through gossip is to cause incredible harm and fracture connections that are difficult to mend. 3. Self-focus Every behavior that chokes out true friendships stems from a focus on oneself rather than on fostering healthy relationships. A self-centered attitude leads to a tendency to dwell on how others have wronged us rather than reflecting on our own shortcomings. True friendship requires a posture of repentance, where we acknowledge and address our own faults. By extending grace to our friends and accepting imperfection, we create an environment where authentic friendships can flourish. Which of the three relational weeds do you see most prevalent in your life (burden, gossip, or self-focus)? What are some ways you can uproot it? Relevant Scriptures : Deuteronomy 13:6 1 Samuel 18:1-4 Proverbs 16:28; 25:17; 27:14 John 15:15 2 John 12 3 John 13-14 Recommended Reading: Made For Friendship by Drew Hunter Made for People by Justin Whitmel Earley No Greater Love by Rebecca McLaughlin

Technology

By Chi Alpha • September 3, 2024
Download Technology “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” -Colossians 3:1-2 As a college student, technology and the internet play a large role in your day-to-day life. You use them to check your grades, submit assignments, apply for internships, schedule meetings, and more. Not much changes after graduation; everyone from consultants to professors to CEOs to software engineers to truck drivers rely on technology for their work. And of course, new social media platforms are popping up every day, fighting for and demanding your attention. It’s unavoidable. As technology becomes more prevalent in our daily lives, it can be easy to dedicate more time and attention to our devices, time that is better spent elsewhere. As we spend more time plugged in, our devices form and shape us in ways we may not recognize for a long time. Thankfully, this is not a resource on how to simply avoid technology in your life because that would be futile. Rather, we need to reframe how we use our devices and learn how to take back control from those who manufacture them. How can we recognize the ways technology has formed us and make intentional choices to ensure our formation is centered around Jesus? As Felicia Wu Song, author of Restless Devices, puts it, “lifting our eyes off our screens and living more deeply into the time and place in which we are embedded.” Our Modern World Think about how many times a day you pick up your cell phone. Most smartphones calculate it for you, and you can see exactly how much time you spend on any given app, how many texts you send per day, etc. Those numbers can be harrowing; we don’t realize how much time and attention we are giving to our devices. Why did we become so engrossed with our phones? How have we become perpetually plugged in? Song writes, “Just as the digital is always accessible to us, we come to expect the same of people…We have fast become a people who are always available, always on call. Young people grow up into their friendships and personal identities in this engrossing fog of social pressures, stresses, and anxieties that had–until this point in human history–mainly been the purview of surgeons, firefighters, and workaholics. (And even then, first responders and doctors were professionally obligated to take time away from their beepers).” Like doctors and first responders, our phones have forced us to always be on call. We constantly feel the need to catch up on emails, texts, social media, and the news of the day. When the internet was first conceived, it was a space you had to intentionally enter by sitting at a desk, firing up a boxy computer, and logging into dial-up internet (as long as someone wasn’t using the home phone). Now, the digital space has entered our world; it’s in our pockets, our living rooms, our kitchen counters, and even our bedrooms, all running on high-speed internet. We no longer need to “do” anything to get connected—we are connected. Smartphones and the internet differ from past technological revolutions because they are specifically designed to attract both our time and attention. Unlike devices like the typewriter, lightbulb, or dishwasher, our devices are more than just tools to help us accomplish tasks. Every day, the brightest minds in the world are tweaking algorithms and designing new apps, all in an effort to capture more of our clicks, scrolls, and likes, which generates more revenue for them. The digital world is not neutral, and it’s certainly not out to make us healthier people. The tech industry is keenly aware of this: they know that we will be formed by the habits we keep, and their goal is to develop habits in us that make us return to them. Many tech executives or former tech executives will restrict their kids from using technology because they understand how the technology works better than anyone! Digital Liturgies Every time we open our phones, we are chemically programming our brains. When we get a notification, our stress response, cortisol, is activated, and whenever we open our phones to answer a message or scroll Instagram, dopamine, our pleasure response, is increased in the brain. This cycle of stress and pleasure is very similar to what gambling addicts describe when using a slot machine, which explains why we constantly check our phones even when we know there isn’t anything there. Technology has also pushed us to be maximally productive, or as Song calls it, “hypertasking.” Since technology allows us to do five things at once, why would we ever waste our time doing nothing? Well, as Song points out, “The irony of it all is that the very technology that promises to help us organize and efficiently deliver in our lives and relationships has merely subjected us to an avalanche of unprioritized demands on our attention and our lives.” Because of these addictive tendencies and the desire to hypertask, we aren’t using our time and attention well—we’re just giving our attention away. These practices are called “digital liturgies.” In the same way that the church has liturgies, such as saying the Lord’s Prayer before a sermon or raising hands during the benediction, our devices build habits into us. When we hear “ding” or feel a vibration, we respond by opening our phones. When we wake up, instead of making our bed and starting the day with peace, we immediately reach for our phones and see what we missed overnight. As Song puts it, “in the same way that Jesus called his disciples to become a people who abide in him as he would abide in them, we too have become a people who abide in the digital, and the digital abides in us.” Counterliturgies At this point, it may sound like the only solution is to take a sledgehammer to your phone and throw your laptop in a dumpster. Not only is that impractical, but it also won’t solve our problem. Instead, we need to counter our digital liturgies with new habits, aka “counterliturgies.” The following exercises are what Song calls “The Freedom Project,” an assignment she gives to her college classes. These are not exhaustive, but they’re great ways to start building healthier practices and take control back from your devices! Stage 1: Digital Media Fast -Go without any form of digital communication for 24 hours. This includes all text messaging, web browsing, social media, smartphone apps (even the weather app!), digital music (both streaming and CDs), streaming platforms like Netflix or YouTube, and video games (including mobile games). You should also abstain from digital news, including sports updates. You are allowed to use email and texts for work/school purposes or emergencies, but try and talk to friends and family before your experiment to limit those. You are allowed to read print media: books, newspapers, magazines. You may watch broadcast TV or go to a movie theater! This is hard to accomplish for 24 hours, so don’t feel pressured to make this a permanent lifestyle, but you can take lessons from it and apply them every day! Before the fast, make plans that will help you stay offline for the day. After the fast, journal what changes/adjustments you had to make, what you did with your day, and how you felt. Stage 2: Stocktaking - This is less about change and more about understanding your current habits and responses in the digital world. Monitoring Digital Usage: Download a time-tracking app, such as Screen Time, Moment, or Rescue Time. Before you begin monitoring, write down how many times you think you pick up your phone and how much time you spend on your phone per day. Track these over 5 days and compare with your guesses. How accurate were you? Did anything surprise you? Going Under the Microscope: Be hyperalert about your digital routines for one 24-hour period. Ask the below questions and reflect on the dynamics and trends you observe. In what situations am I nearly always using my phone? Are there triggers that automatically motivate me to reach for my phone? What is my physical/emotional state right before/after I use my phone? Are there moments when I realize I don’t have my phone? How do I feel then? When do I feel engaged, joyful, effective, & purposeful? Where am I? Who am I with? “Phone Meditation” Exercise: First, sit and become aware of your current feelings, posture, and focus/distraction level. Take out your phone and hold it. What changes do you notice in yourself? Posture, feelings, focus, etc. Next, unlock your phone and open a frequently used app. Spend a few moments scrolling or messaging, then observe yourself again for any shifts. Then turn off your phone and put it out of sight. Sit for an entire minute without doing anything. Take note of any differences again. Write and reflect on this activity as a whole. Motivation Check: Put a “stop sign” on your phone, either on your wallpaper or with a post-it note/rubber band. Ask yourself each time you pick it up: What am I going to do? Why now instead of later? What else could I do right now besides check my phone? Stage 3: Counterliturgy - Try new activities that push back against your digital/secular liturgies! Create a new bedtime/morning routine that doesn’t involve your phone. Maybe start your day by making your bed, exercising, reading/journaling, or enjoying the outdoors. In the evenings, read a book, write a note of gratitude, play music, or enjoy a cup of tea! Make a “sacred zone” around your bed for five days. Create a charging station for your phone/devices that is further away from where you normally set it, either across the room or in another room altogether. If you use your phone as your alarm, buy a physical alarm clock instead! You can use a watch to wake you up while your phone is across/outside the room. Experiment with monotasking. Choose an activity: studying, cooking, chores, gardening, etc., and do that activity without focusing on anything else during that time. Start with a small amount of time (20-30 minutes) and work your way up to monotasking for longer. Protect your sacred times. Block apps, video games, streaming services, and social media during certain times of the day, such as before bed and right after waking up. Observe when you run into these limits, and whether you want to break through them or find something else to do instead. Hopefully, whether through these exercises or others like them, we can all improve our relationship with technology and, more importantly, improve our connection with the world around us and the God who created it all! Technology plays a huge part in our lives, and it’s vital to our mission to spread the truth of Jesus around the world. By having healthy digital habits, we will display a life centered around the peace and love of Jesus to a world engrossed in screens, a world longing for a better way. Relevant Scriptures Psalm 91:1 ...Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High John 15:5. …If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit 1 John 2:15 …Do not love the world or anything in the world. Questions for Discussion What has been your relationship with technology, specifically your smartphone? Which of these counterliturgies do you need to practice the most? How will your improved relationship with technology help you share Jesus with others? Recommended Reading Restless Devices by Felicia Wu Song How to Break Up with Your Phone by Catherine Price