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So recently, I plucked out my eyeball. No, not literally. But for some in the modern world, it might seem like that’s what happened. What I actually did was remove all access to the internet and social media apps from my phone. Why on earth would a totally sane person do such a thing? Some might even suggest that to take such actions demonstrates a lack of sanity. However, this was done after very careful consideration. 

I have noticed that over the past few years of my smartphone ownership that certain habits have developed, that while not necessarily sinful, are certainly a choosing of what Scripture might call the “non-beneficial.” I noticed that my ability to read a book, especially an arduous work of theology, had significantly declined. I see a tendency in myself to choose the easy, trivial, and quickly satisfying path over the challenging, truly nourishing, and profitable one. These habits all developed around the way I was using my cell phone. In light of these observations, I realized that something needed to change.

But what could I do? I clearly need my cell phone and the access to information that it provides. I needed to be able to watch those Youtube shorts. I needed to be able to give a thumbs up to my friends' pictures of current meals under consumption. The most up-to-date information on MLB box scores must be immediately available to me. I had to have a gateway to hot-off-the-presses news stories. To not have the availability of such things in this modern world is tantamount to being physically disabled!

As I pondered this dilemma, Matthew 5:29 came to mind: “If your right eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.” This verse perplexes many Christians. It is so stark and drastic and RADICAL! Could Jesus really have meant . . . ?!? 

Does this apply to my use of a cell phone?

Despite how difficult this text is to interpret in its extreme presentation, Jesus makes very clear that radical problems require radical solutions. We are not to be content with half-measures. If indeed some temptation is leading us away from Christ, we are to take radical measures to fix that problem, as potentially our eternal souls are on the line.

Now, using a cell phone isn’t sin. However, it most certainly fits into the category of often not beneficial. Of course, if someone is using their cell phone for specifically wicked things, then this applies even more. The principle from this text is that perhaps a radical solution is required to avoid a negative outcome. To cut oneself off from certain realities is to save oneself for things of even greater value and importance. I decided to remove my access to these non-beneficial things, hoping to restore habits of far greater benefit and value.

So I’ve become maimed, as it were. If someone sends me a twitter link to click on I reply, “I’m sorry I cannot view that. I have become blind.” If I want to find out the latest updates on the Kardashians or the latest Trump indictment, I cannot. I am culturally and socially disabled. If I want to read a really important book—though it’s a challenge for me right now—my faculties, which had been maimed and broken, are being restored and my abilities are regenerating. I’m truly happier, less anxious, more contented, and satisfied in my pursuit of the beneficial.

My phone is no longer smart, but I’d like to think that it has become wise.