Screens & SoulsSample

The allure of screens

The book of Proverbs, written around three thousand years ago, doesn’t say much about tablets and TikTok, but it can teach us wisdom with technology. In Proverbs 5, a loving father is trying to protect his sons from a local woman who doesn’t care much about marriage vows. She, apparently, is very attractive and, apparently, very aggressive with guys no matter their relationship status. Thus the father pleads, “Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say. Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house” (verses 7,8). In other words, “Boys, don’t get too close or you’ll go too far.”

What is true for some, sexually, is true for most, digitally. When we get too close, we go too far. When our devices are always with us, always able to get our attention, we end up scrolling and scrolling (and scrolling and scrolling), wasting our limited time and ignoring the people who need our full attention. Depending on your personal relationship with screens, you may need to “not go near” their alluring presence.

What does that mean? Ask a few friends or Google it (irony noted) for some ideas about wise boundaries. This may seem like an unrelated step to your walk with God, but keeping your screens on a digital leash will allow you to love people better and focus on the Word longer. Few things matter more than that.