Awake….awake…. O sleeper bemoans a passage in the Bible. Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion! The Lord almighty who sees the end to the beginning and the beginning to the end has seen what may happen to millennial believers. Augustus M Toplady (1776) famous hymn finds resonance here. Toplady’s Rock of Ages first line opens with: “Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee….” Hmmmm. Amidst the secular chaos, confusion, anxiety, uncertainty and poverty of the 1770s, Toplady made an evocative cry to the Lord in that famous line.
Toplady was looking for where to hide from the struggles and challenges buffeting his faith. It also brings to mind the famous pleading of King David in Psalm 46: 1: “God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble.” Today’s believers are grappling with so many distractions that are making us all sleepers for the faith. Elijah, oh yes, powerful Elijah may have hidden in a cave at the threat of death from vengeful Jezebel, where then do we all hide at the avalanche of daily distractions turning us away from the Way? Where?
Today’s believers are nothing short of moving targets. Digital distractions are damaging devotions among digitalized worshippers. On the one hand, modern gadgets have redrawn the boundaries of modern Christianity. Worshippers can watch, listen, phone in and tweet pastors across continents and receive response in real times. That is the enervating advantage of modern communication across all divides. But the damage of the same digital communication have made us sleeping worshippers who have been arrested, imprisoned and corrupted all the way. The old way has been supplanted. The new way has made us all weak, ineffective, sluggish and slumbering believers.
Bible reading and the art of Christian meditation are both casualties of Facebook and WhatsApp addiction. Believers are now pushed around, intimidated and influenced by all the digital distractions that are churned out almost daily. Bible memorization have been exchanged and passages can now be assessed almost instantly through our phones. Babalawo in remote Ilogbo Ekiti and Prophet on Mountain Ikoyi in Ede are also addicted to their phones, Instagram and WhatsApp. Prayer times are shorter and ineffective. Hardly can you see devotional time exceeding 10 minutes.
Prayer is becoming archaic, backward and boring. Instantaneous prayers from the heart where we die to self and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us to the holy of holies has been yanked off by the antics of the devil. We now rely on prayer chain shared by our WhatsApp contacts where we all chorus amen and moved on. WhatsApp prayers are now so popular among believers that we rely so much on them than do 1 hour personal supplication to the Father. We have lost it. Believers have lost faith in traditional prayer from pastors. Pastors are now demonized and spiritual intervention from our men and women of God is seen as a byword for financial extortion. Why are we slaves to digital distractions that are damaging our devotions to Jesus Christ?
Prayer and Bible forums have been taken out of the confines of God’s tabernacle to the central square of WhatsApp and Instagram. Pastors now send sermons to WhatsApp mindful of the fact that modern believers attention span in the church is no more than 10 minutes at a stretch. Prayers are now delivered like ballistic missiles through video chat or voice message on WhatsApp and Facetime. We need hard talk here for the recovery of our soul from the depth of digital slavery to sin.
We cannot get God’s attention through WhatsApp. WhatsApp addiction that has taken away personal adoration, confession of sins, thanksgiving and supplication enrages God. He emphasizes that he is a jealous God in Exodus 20:5. Believers are called to enforce the defeat of Satan on a daily basis and not to allow him distract us from Bible reading, prayer, fasting, Bible memorialization and meditation. Believers have develop unhealthy relationship with digital distractions. This is creating anxiety, unhappiness, spiritual dryness and victimhood. The first great relationship we must have is with God. The core strength of every believer is to identify with Christ.
Digital distraction in the form of excessive attachment to social media has no place in our Christian life. The goal of social media, from experience, is to separate us from the faith. God wants our devotion – our personal and physical devotion through our knees, adoration, prayer, fasting and supplication. These Christian exercises are what will deliver victory and not attachment to social media distractions. We have to dump the social media junks that are alienating us from God. We need to anchor deep. That is we have to anchor in the written word of God which tells us that through the victory of the cross, the devil is defeated and is stripped of all his authority.
Just as Satan competed with faith, social media is competing with our faith. He rebelled against the most high in heaven. WhatsApp is a distracting tool design to fool us and steal our devotion. We should not exalt social media distraction above the most high God. The Bible says in John 15:7, “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you”. Social media is fast tuning to be another god of most believers. And the Bible says in Psalm 16:4, “Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god”. Who is getting your devotion? Who is your God? Digital distractions damaging devotion is real. Victims are beside you in today’s service!!! How many times did you peep on your WhatsApp messages when reading this piece?
. Deacon Oladeji writes from ridet@hotmail.co.uk.
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