The Fight for the Christian Mind
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. -Col. 3:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. -Rom. 12:2
I wrote an article a few years ago about how the big 4 tech companies (Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook) are in a battle for our hearts. I don’t think I even fathomed just how big of a deal this was at the time. Over the years, I’ve even reduced it to simply being a battle for our attention. It makes sense. The more attention we give to their apps, the more money they make.
People often talk about being lost for hours in social media rabbit holes. Tik Tok is even trying to get #TikTokTaughtMe trending. I’m teaching a class to a bunch of teens right now and they all confessed to spending hours on Tik Tok and Instagram each day.
When I wrote that article, I failed to account for how all of this time spent on the apps, scrolling through nuggets of nothingness, forms and shapes our minds.
The Power of the Algorithm
Many of the engineers behind these apps will boast that because we spend so much time on them, they know us better than we know ourselves. A consistent joke in the tech world is that if you really want to know what you’re about, check your Instagram explore page. What you’re really into shows up there. If you’re wondering what I’m about, today it says: basketball, weightlifting, food, sneakers, and physical therapy (I’m currently battling wrist tendinitis). What makes the algorithm so good is that I follow very few accounts like this and yet, it knows.
The reason these apps know us so well is because we give them so much of our time. The average person uses social media for two and half hours each day. It’s also reported that teens are getting an average of seven hours of screen time daily. I’m not even going to look at Bible engagement because I know it’s not even close.
When you spend that much time in a place specifically designed to gear itself towards your interests and psyche, it’s inevitable for it to shape your thoughts and opinions. We are led down echo chambers that give us the dopamine hits we crave every time we see a post that agrees with us. This is why many scholars are starting to believe that the algorithm is one of the chief factors of our increased societal polarization.
What Do You Believe?
This is where we encounter a serious problem. If what forms us is a highly specified algorithm that morphs into an echo chamber, it’s going to be virtually impossible to think critically let alone biblically about anything.
Because we live in an increasingly bifurcated world where we draw sharp lines between what we deem to be good and what we deem to be evil, we have lost the ability to engage in civil discourse when we disagree.
Over the last few years, whenever big news happens, the social media outrage or cheering is heavy. My concern each time something like this happens is that the response from Christians rarely has anything to do with what God has said. Instead, we take to social media to parrot the narratives and talking points our team has given us through the hours spent on social media consuming their works/words.
Unfortunately, the transforming of our minds is not coming from the Word God has given us but from the machines in our pockets. It seems we have lost the ability for nuance. One of my favorite quotes is from Tennessee pastor, Scott Sauls: “I am too liberal for conservatives and too conservative for liberals, said anyone following the whole Jesus.”
I know to many of you that may sound like centrist, “both sides” escapism but I assure you, it’s not. Neither party, as presently constituted, when lined up with Scripture, would be somewhere Jesus plants his flag. And if we are taking our cues from him, then I think we would do well to lean in that direction as well. That doesn’t mean you can’t continue to vote for or support your party but it does mean that you don’t find your hope or only directives from them.
My wife will often say that as we take to social media and make our arguments and present our cases, would they be the same or would we be as confident if Jesus was the one we were talking to? And even if we are right, would we be comfortable presenting our cases with the same energy and attitude to Jesus that we do the opposition on social media?
Hearts and Minds Renewed
We can’t escape social media or our phones, they’re attached to us at this point. A lot of us need them for our jobs. But that doesn’t mean they have to rule us. They shouldn’t be the first things we see when we wake up or the last thing we see before we go to bed.
We don’t need to provide an opinion for everything that happens, immediately after it happens. Especially because of that whole echo chamber effect, we’re really just posting to be liked and retweeted by those who already agree with us. And if you think your posts are going to change someone’s mind, they’re not. Save the conversation for real life, in person, with people you actually know. That is where minds are changed. Approach these conversations with humility and grace because there is a chance that you could be wrong too.
Lastly, engage more with scripture and fill your mind with the things of Jesus. Our inconsistent quiet time in the morning doesn’t have the same opportunity to form us the way social media does.
I know everyone doesn’t read or listen to podcasts but what if you spent some of that time scrolling and watching youtube purposely engaging with creators who are seeking to get you to think biblically about the world.
Remember we are to be in this world not of it. We are peculiar people set apart for God’s calling. And we are to be salt and light. We can’t do and be anything of those things if we look, act, speak, and argue like the world around us.
Go in grace.