I'm not proud of it, but I got on TikTok this week. One minute I was giving my team access to my account, the next minute I'd watched six strangers get haircuts from a barber here in Nashville that I’ve never even seen before. It was fascinating and completely pointless.
Here's what it made me realize: If you don't handle your phone with intention, it will handle you.
Your phone can be a tool or it can be an idol. There's no in-between.
I know what you're thinking: how do you live without one? They seem necessary, right?
You can FaceTime your grandma (unless she has an Android), order food, read your Bible, track your family’s location + more. The problem isn't the phone itself. The problem is that most of us aren't using our phones. Our phones are using us.
New Idols
Two thousand years ago, if you walked the streets Jesus walked, you'd see statues everywhere. Idols of lowercase-g gods. People would buy them and make sacrifices to them, hoping to get something in return. We hear about this in 2026 and think,
"How foolish. How dumb could they be?"
We should be really careful saying things like that. Because in the Bible, their idols were primarily statues. But in 2026 we keep them in our pockets. You used to have to climb to the top of a mountain to give an idol attention. Now our idols vibrate and ping us until we bow. They used to build entire factories to make idols. Now they're built directly on our news feeds.
In short:
I believe the most dangerous threat to your soul this year isn't hiding in the shadows. It's glowing in your pocket.
What You're Really Sacrificing
Here's how it works: Time leads to worship, which leads to sacrifice.Eventually, if you spend enough time doing something, it becomes worship. Where you spend your time will inevitably stir the affections of your heart, which inevitably leads to a sacrifice.
So what are you sacrificing when your phone is your idol?
Presence. Your family is talking, but you're half-listening while you scroll.
Peace. You can't sit in silence for five minutes because your brain needs constant stimulation. other people live.
Passion. You used to dream about what God called you to do, but now you just watch
Purity. One click always leads to another, and now you're bound.
Proximity to God. How could you be close to God when you spend all your time with a screen?
Jesus said it this way:
"Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light"
Matthew 6:22
He's saying protect what you look at, because where you look determines where you go.
We become what we behold.
Get this: The average Christian spent 30 hours reading their Bible in 2025. The average adult spent 2,100 hours on their phone. It is impossible to become the person Jesus is calling you to become living like this.
So What Do We Do?
Look, I'm not saying throw your phone in the trash (though honestly, not the worst idea).
But if you're afraid of being a little weird, you're afraid of the wrong thing. Be afraid of fitting in.
Fitting in looks like being depressed, isolated, and in a hurry all the time.
Here's how we fight back in 2026:
Replace the morning scroll with the morning Word. Don't open your phone until you've opened your Bible. Simple hack: charge your phone in another room.
Replace mindless consumption with mindful prayer. What if every time you feel that itch to pick up your phone, that becomes a trigger to pray instead? Just one sentence: "Jesus, I'm here. What do you want to say to me?"
Set strategic guardrails. Real freedom isn't found in unlimited choice. Real freedom is found in strategic limits. Set screen time limits. No phones at the table. No phones after a certain time. No phones in the bedroom.
Replace destructive content with redemptive content. For some of you, the most holy thing you can do today is unfollow some accounts. Unfollow some podcasts. Stop watching some comedians. The content you consume is leading to the person you'll become. Replace artificial community with real community. A group chat or social media followers isn't real community. Your soul needs people in person.
Here's the beautiful truth: Idols always require YOUR sacrifice. They take and take and take. But God provided the sacrifice for you. When your sin should have gotten you death, God loved you so much that He sent His only son Jesus to die for you—not just so you could live eternally, but so you could live immediately.
The phone promised you connection—Jesus offers communion.
The phone promised you knowledge—Jesus offers wisdom.
The phone promised you life—Jesus offers resurrection.
In 2026, no more idols. Just give me Jesus
