How My iPhone Became My Idol

While out of the country last month I discovered I have a serious addiction. My husband had tried to warn me for over a year that I had a problem, but I was in denial. Perhaps you, too, have the same addiction. It had so consumed me that while in Jamaica I literally felt anxious when forced to give it up cold turkey. It was in that moment of mental anguish (my hitting bottom) when the Holy Spirit convicted me, this was a serious problem that was overtaking me. What was this awful thing? It was cell service.

Before you think I'm crazy, think for a moment how reliant you are on staying connected. When you forget your phone at home are you worried all day about what you are missing? When facebook crashes do you feel like you will be lost on what's happening in the world? If you were unable to check email for a day would you panic at the thought of having to catch up? That's where I was.

When we were dating, Andy would ask me to put my phone away because as he would say, he was "tired of having a relationship with the back of a phone." But I didn't care about his feelings, I was consumed with my addiction to technology.

While on honeymoon a moment of clarity came when I realized that as soon as my eyes opened each morning I didn't even think of him being next to me. Instead, I found myself frantically searching for my phone to complete my daily routine which was:

1. check for texts
2. check facebook
3. check email
4. read my USA Today app (because how can my day begin without first finding out which celebrity had been arrested overnight)

Obviously, much of ministry connection for me happens through technology. Clearly I'm not against it. But, the Spirit began to show me that it had an undeserving spot in my life. It was something that I adored excessively, which happens to be the definition of the word "idol". I had slowly, unknowingly, begun to idolize my iPhone.

It was an easy battle when we had no service, but it became much more difficult when we returned to the states. At that point, the phone wasn't even the issue, it was an issue of obedience. God told me to re-prioritize, and I kept making excuses why it was okay. This is something I'm still struggling with, but with the Lord's help (and the accountability I am gaining as I post this), I will make it.

This was one of those hidden sins that creep up without our realizing it. One that we have to ask God to search our hearts for. Do you have idols that you didn't even realize were there? Is your mind consumed with objects or ideas that control you? Ask the Lord to search your heart and reveal them to you, and when He does, ask His forgiveness and make it your priority to eliminate them.