Trading Faith for Phones

 Trading Faith for Phones
By Brian Keith Shrewsbury

     We are living in a time when many of us would sooner part with our faith in God than give up our iPhones. For countless people, the thought of losing their devices is more distressing than the idea of losing their spiritual core values. Our children’s minds are being shaped by what they see and hear online, yet too often, we ignore the dangers and lessons the digital world is teaching them—lessons that may run counter to the values we hold dear.
Children are bombarded with manipulative messages such as, “Please like and subscribe to this channel or you do not love your parents,” or even more disturbing threats: “Your parents will be killed,” or “A spider will be in your bed tonight.” These awful tactics are being used to scare and manipulate our children, helping “evil people to make money and gain influence.”

     Instead of facing the truth of the world around us, many of us choose to escape into endless scrolling, numbing ourselves with content and distractions. Parents are watching videos on their screens while missing out on the real, unrepeatable moments—like watching their own children play sports or learn and grow. As one observer put it, “Porn has replaced real physical relationships between husband and wife. OnlyFans has replaced people making money in real ways that embolden their feelings of accomplishment. Instead, people make money out of corrupting their bodies and souls.”

     This isn’t a problem that’s slowly developing; it’s already here. The majority of people are addicted to their phones, and while they are absorbed by their screens, the world is changing in profound ways. “Streets are empty, children do not play outside. Restaurants are filled with hunched-over people staring at their phones, and the once fun time with family eating out at a restaurant has become a silent endeavor of ignoring each other.”

     By the time we look up from our phones, we may find that the world we thought we knew has become something entirely different—less connected, less compassionate, and less grounded in truth. Our conversations now revolve around, “Did you see that video?” Jokes are repeated from online sources, often “disturbing and crude,” and even our children are exposed to “naked bodies, artificial relationships, and sex that is impossible and loveless.” And it’s only accelerating.

     Soon, we may not even need to pick up a device; the internet, powered by advancing technology, could become a seamless part of our minds—“always on, always influencing, always directing our thoughts, feelings, and actions.” Even the people doing jobs today may be replaced by robots. “Our children may be driven to school by them, served dinner by them, and even bathed and put to bed by them.” There may come a time when “our children grow attached to entities they call ‘mom’ and ‘dad,’ rather than real people.”The risk is that we become so intertwined with our technology that we lose the ability to step back, reflect, and choose for ourselves.

A Call to Awareness
     This is a wake-up call. If we don’t reclaim our attention, our values, and our relationships now, we may wake up in a world where we are no longer free to do so. The time to act is now: to set boundaries, to be present with our loved ones, to teach our children well, and to put faith and truth above convenience and distraction.
Let us choose to be present, to seek truth, and to put God and genuine human connection at the center of our lives—before it’s too late.

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