Father, Forgive Us for We Have Sinned

When we wake up each morning, what’s the first item we lay our hands on: our Bibles or our smart phones? Jesus commanded us to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33), but how many of us have the resolve to lay down our distractions and truly focus our attention on God alone? Lina Abu Jamra, founder of Living with Power Ministries, boldly exhorted us to confront such questions at a conference, jointly organized by LSESD’s youth and publishing ministries, on the influence of cell phones in our daily lives. Referencing the classic story of Mary and Martha, she asked us which type of person we are. She also contrasted Samson and Daniel to portray how allowing distractions into our lives, though seemingly harmless at first, can lead to our destruction. As a God-ordained judge, Samson was filled with the Spirit of God and capable of doing mighty acts; however, his unquenchable lust for foreign women ultimately resulted in his capture and the loss of his eyes. Daniel, on the other hand, proved his undivided devotion to the God of Abraham by not allowing himself to compromise with the world and partake in its delicacies.

His desire from a young age to sanctify himself and commit to staying pure and undistracted resulted in the conversion of one of the most wicked rulers in the history of man and the glorification of the One True God across an entire empire. When faced with these two opposites, we must ask ourselves: Who would we rather be like?

Along the same theme, the conference also presented the launch of DMAH’s Arabic translation of the book, 12 Ways Your Cell Phone is Changing You. It’s author, Tony Reinke, also calls us to evaluate how our smart phones have changed us and our relationships with God. Although smart phones serve as our most useful companion, allowing them to have the priority in our lives violates the first commandment of having no other gods besides the Lord our God. In today’s technological world, few of us are immune to its addictive pull that quietly creeps into our daily lives and demands all our attention. As we realize that our closest friend has most likely become an idol in our lives, we must turn our faces back to God and say, “Father, forgive us for we have sinned.”