When it comes to organizing my life, I am decidedly (and frustratingly) old school. My husband has (almost) given up convincing me that Google calendars are the way to go. I usually give digital diaries a non-committal shot for a week or two and then revert to my trusty spiral-ring planner.

When it comes to spending time in the Word, I’m not very different. Every morning, I grab my Bible (you know, the actual hard copy one) and my journal and my set of pens. While my cursive still needs work (despite my rigorous Catholic school education), I love writing down my reflections on paper. Yup, I’ve heard about the wonders of Evernote, but there’s something immensely satisfying about journals that you can leaf through and maybe someday leave behind for your children.

But, admittedly, in the last few years, I’ve started leaving my Bible at home on Sunday mornings. I know that when the speaker at church references a passage, it’s easy to look it up on my online Bible. I also know I’m not the exception.

The YouVersion Bible app has been downloaded on over 425 million devices. By any estimate that’s a staggering number – the app, and others like it, puts the Word of God into millions of hands in a more accessible and convenient way than ever before.

But to those of us who have both the hard copy and the digital versions of the Bible at our fingertips, is our preference for convenience diluting our connection with God?

Online Bibles make reading on the go possible. But has it become our go-to mode of communing with God?

I do realize that engaging with digital content comes naturally to the generation that has grown up knowing how to swipe before they could pick up Cheerios with their fingers.

But are any of us immune from the snares of the Bible jostling for space with social media and messaging platforms?

I know I’ve fallen for the “Nah, social media won’t distract me” ruse once too often. I’ve found myself checking “important” messages at church even while the speaker is delivering an impassioned message. It only takes a second to click on that insistent notification.

And in that second, I end up phubbing God.

If you’re not familiar with the term, phubbing essentially equates to phone plus snubbing. It’s something we do unthinkingly in social situations when a beep distracts us during a conversation. We no longer seem offended when someone grabs their phone during social interactions. In fact, as our digital distractions become more ubiquitous, phubbing has become acceptable, even expected.

And it impinges on our times alone with God, especially when we read the Word digitally or keep our phones within reach during our quiet times.

In the Word, we’re told: Be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10)

Stillness in our souls and in our minds is a God-ordained way for us to connect with Him. But is stillness possible if the very means we use to connect with God is a hive of information that is designed to vie for our attention?

Can we really give God an undivided heart when we are pulled in different directions?

Can we really allow for a holy moment when the sacred is crowded out by the secular?

Of course, I don’t want to discount how digital Bibles have transformed the landscape of Bible engagement across the world. I subscribe to Bible plans on YouVersion. Thanks to the platform, thousands have read devotionals that I’ve had the privilege of writing.

But I would liken it to snacking on the Word. A little grazing before the main meal. We tend to scroll on our phones, scan for bits and bobs of inspiration and information. It’s like rummaging in the pantry for granola bars. They’re healthy – but they don’t supply all the nutrients you and I need.

When we grab our old-school paper Bibles, though, it presents opportunities for feasting on a solid meal that supplies the nourishment our souls require.

It would be naive to think that distractions will disappear. But at least we’re not setting ourselves up for a grab n go experience. Instead, we’re setting up a table complete with white linen and silverware for a meal that we can linger over.

By all means, let’s continue to read our online Bibles because the Word doesn’t return void (Isaiah 55:11). But I would invite you to also find times where you leave your phone behind, crack open the paper Bible in a quiet space, and get alone with God. To be still and to enjoy uninterrupted time with Him. To feast on the Word. To linger. To savor. To taste and see that He is supremely good.

 

 

 

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash