Humans don’t only bear the image of God. We were created to intentionally image God in the world he made. Knowing this helps us understand our purpose and identity. But how does your phone, more specifically social media content, fit into this? We’re always in possession of this small device and the connectivity it offers. Thus it is a tool that will either build up or skew and disrupt our identity. Undoubtedly, social media shapes us and influences the image(s) we reflect. The content we consume has the power to reorder our priorities, form habits, and even shape identity.
How aware are you of all the content that you are consuming and how it’s shaping your identity?
Therefore, making your phone work for you involves asking the honest question: Is my phone and the way I’m using it helping me or hurting me? Is it helping you to achieve your spiritual goals? Or is it hindering them? Is your phone helping you worship God rather than the world he created? Or is it pulling you away from the Creator, offering you lesser created things rather than life in Christ? Tying these back to the above, does what I look at on my phone promote the image of God in me?
The reality of being human means we are susceptible to transformational powers around us. Words and images. Movements and ideologies. Social media. Paul warns us about this. He says, “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world” (Romans 12:2). We know that the things we like make up who we are as individuals. And this is beautiful! But just how aware are you of all the content that you are consuming and how it’s shaping your identity?
What Do You Worship?
Paul doesn’t stop with that warning. He goes on to say that we need to be transformed by something else. “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). It’s a process of throwing off the world and putting on Christ.
In 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You, Tony Reinke says, “What we call worship—worshipping God faithfully, fully and truly—is also a matter of our identity. That is what we are created for. That is who we are.” So if your worship is disrupted, your identity becomes disrupted, leading to a loss of purpose. This ranges from simple ‘likes’ to the very characteristics of our personality and the habits we have.
Interaction is investment. Consumption determines character. Worship leads to a transformed identity.
If I’m looking at pictures of expensive things, highlife living, ‘perfect’ body images, posts campaigning worldly ideals and values, then my brain is thinking that these things are a priority. Interaction is investment. Consumption determines character. Worship leads to a transformed identity—for better or worse. It is a fundamental dynamic that moulds us. Of course, this isn’t limited to social media. It includes the company we keep, where we spend our time, and the things we do.
I noticed this intense wave of disruption happening to me about a year ago. I was confused by incessant discontentment. So, I asked myself, “Where is this coming from?” And one afternoon, after an hour of mindless scrolling, I suddenly realised what was happening. I was being overwhelmed by an endless flow of social media lives, pouring into mine. Telling me God wasn’t where I’d find satisfaction. Rather, each post subtly urged me to look to those things and stuff, lifestyle and comforts. Right then and there I decided something needed to change.
The World Is Full of Deforming Powers
So I want you to prayerfully think and reflect on this. What specific—or even seemingly mindless—content are you spending a significant amount of time on every day?
Sin makes us susceptible to the transformative power of things other than God.
Being image-bearers means that we were created to be mouldable. We are shapeable. And as the creation story goes, this was originally a good thing. The purpose of it was that we might grow and be shaped more into the image of God. But sin made us susceptible to the transformative power of things other than God – the things he created rather than the Creator himself. The image we reflect or the image we image depends on who or what we are worshipping. When you talk, are you speaking from a perspective that is grounded in scripture or the latest TikTok you watched?
Your Phone Can Be a Powerful, Positive Tool
When I mentioned that I decided something needed to change, I asked myself if this meant I need to give up my phone or social media—wholesale. Maybe for some, that is the necessary, albeit drastic, step. For being formed into the image of God and not the image of the world is far more important than anything else. But for me, I decided to find a way to make my phone work for me as a tool to aid spiritual growth and maturity, while still interacting with the world around me.
I decided to find a way to make my phone work for me as a tool to aid spiritual growth and maturity.
I thought about what would help me. Psalm 1:1-4 talks about meditating on God’s word “day and night,” being planted by living waters not tossed in the wind like chaff. And I realised, I needed more of God and his word. So I unfollowed every account posting content misleading my desires and reordering my loves. I switched off those accounts I knew weren’t good for my spiritual health. After some research, I followed accounts posting daily scriptures, sermons, writing about Christian living, and much more like that. I decided to make an effort to share more of these things as well. It’s been encouraging to know that I am being intentional with my phone usage and growing more.
Choose Who You Want to Become
You need to move towards him by praying and spending time in his word, intentionally seeking him out.
Something wonderful happens when we become like Christ. Unlike the idols who leave us in death and powerlessness, in Christ we are powerfully conformed to his beautiful image. We have freedom from conformity to the world because of what Jesus did on the cross. God’s word and his Spirit have the power to do this. But you need to move towards him by praying and spending time in his word, intentionally seeking him out.
The only way we can reject the other identities reflected on us in this world is through Spirit-given power. Otherwise, we are tossed about every which way by all the things of this world.
