An American Idol
20 Then God spoke all these words:
2 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the
house of slavery. 3 You must have no other gods before me. 4 Do not make an
idol for yourself – no form whatsoever - of anything in the sky above or on the
earth below or in the waters under the earth.
When you get up in the morning, what is your routine? For those of you still working, you may slowly rise, shower, have a cup of coffee, listen to the news, and then check your phone for messages or emails. For others, you may eventually roll out of bed, turn on the tv, have a bowl of cereal, and get ready for either in-person or virtual school. For those of us who are retired, the day may not begin until 9:00 when we stretch to get the blood pumping, pour a glass of prune juice, fetch the newspaper and our reading glasses, and settle down to watch a recorded morning news show. At my house it’s CBS This Morning with Gayle King, Anthony Mason, and Tony Dokoupil.
Wait a minute. Did you catch it? Did I leave something out? Oh, yeah! What about Facebook? Snapchat? Twitter? According to the Pew Research Center, 72% of Americans use one of these platforms every day. They are a part of our routine!
What does that say about many of us? I know what it says about me! It says that I’m probably being rude to Jon when he comes into the room wanting to share some news, but I’m flipping through post after post. It also says that I’m setting a terrible example for my adolescent grandchildren who are already way too controlled by their phones. It says that I am constantly thinking of something “clever” that I can post, or I am worried that I missed a birthday greeting to someone who barely remembers me from high school! Worst of all, it proves that I’m wasting so much time on looking rather than doing, and at my age I just don’t have that kind of time to waste. These forms of social media in conjunction with texting (I threw that in for my granddaughter) have become our American Idols. No, not the TV singing show, but something that replaces God and the good works that we do in God’s name.
This past week I have had some wonderful “good works” moments. The church I’ve attended for 67 years, Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church, celebrated it’s 150th anniversary and all of the good works and wonderful people that have come from it. Then on Monday members of our Sunday school class did some gardening and clean up around the church grounds! What a good time we had! Today Jon Parlier and I packed bags of food for the Pack for the Future Children’s Ministry. And now I get to share my thoughts in a devotional that will be distributed digitally as a part of the Worship Ministry!
I tell you this, not to call attention to the few things I do to make me
feel good, but to remind us all to put the phone down! Step away from the
computer! Go back out into the world (wearing a mask, of course), and do
something to help others survive and you to thrive! Don’t worship at the altar
of this American Idol.
Heavenly Father, help me to fight this addiction I have to my phone and the social media that attracts me. Guide me and lead me into a life of doing for others instead of envying what others have. And if all else fails, drain the energy from my battery. In your name I pray.
Amen|
Becky Warren
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