By Dr. Rebekah McCloud
Last week I had a devastating experience, one I venture to say that many of you have had. Oh, Lord was my first cry. With adrenaline pumping, I went into rescue mode. The first-aid directions readily flooded my mind. I ran into the kitchen to gather supplies. Once I had done my very best to triage the situation, I sat down and prayed. Truth be known, I really wanted to just start crying.
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz—my phone fell into the toilet. I’m sure I am not alone. In fact, a survey by CBS News says 75% of Americans admit to using their phone while in the bathroom.[1] Blackberry users are most guilty. That’s me! A separate study found that one-third of people have dropped their phones down the toilet. Yahoo, a splash in the pan.[2]
So, I know you are wondering what this has got to do with stewardship, with our Christian walk, with us being fishers of men. A lot! Raise your hand if you read your Bible on your phone. Keep them up. Raise your hand if you read your daily devotional, scripture of the day, or daily inspiration on your phone. If you already had your hand raised, raise your other one. Look around. Now, if you have dropped your phone into the toilet or know someone who has, turn to your neighbor and say, “plop, plop, fizz, fizz.”
So, as the kids would say, “here’s the tea.” I spent a couple day without a phone, made a trip to the Urban You Break I Fix store, and I finally bought a new one. I lost my pictures, my contacts, my text messages and all of my apps. But, that’s transitory stuff.
What I missed the most, was my Bible, my devotionals, my scriptures. Those things have become such a part of my daily routine. That’s kingdom building stuff. The loss of my phone made me realize a couple of things.
First, I had not had my hands on my paper Bible since the last time I had pulled it out of its bag one Sunday here at church. Now, that’s a shame. I’m kicking myself because I can do better. Some would say that’s ok, read what you got. “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz.”
The Bible tells us in Psalm 119:11 to “hide the words in our hearts” and Proverbs 22:18-19 tells us to not only keep them in our heart but to “have them ready on our lips.” But it also tells us in Proverbs 7:3 (speaking of the commandments) to, “Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” In Deuteronomy 11:18, it says, “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.”
So, how can I “bind them to my fingers” or “tie them as symbols to my hands” if I don’t touch my Bible? Amen. I’ve got to do something.
Secondly, I found that I’m not as familiar with the Bible as I used to be. I once knew where the books are in the Bible as I know where the letters are on my keyboard. I’m sad to report that my electronic Bible has weakened my Bible dexterity. “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz.”
Church, I’ve got to do better! I know the Bible. I’ve read the entire Bible, cover to cover, many times. My Dad was a preacher, so when we were kids, we had to say a Bible verse (from memory) every night before we could eat dinner. We could not repeat one. If we did, my dad would clear his throat. That was the clue—oh, no you didn’t, back it up.
My Momma reads her Bible every day. She’ll be 95 next month, and for as long as I can remember, she has read every day.
We recently went on vacation; Momma forgot to take her Bible. The place where we stayed did not have a Bible in the room. So, I called the front desk only to learn that there were no Bibles at all on the premise. I did my best to teach Momma how to find the scriptures using Bible Gateway on my tablet. It didn’t work. She told me, “Becky, I don’t like this, it ain’t the Bible.”
These experiences reminded me of an article I read about the reasons hardcopy Bibles are superior to digital ones. The author wrote, “So I can’t quite put my finger on this last reason. It’s abstract. Maybe undefinable. It’s like the reason walking through Barnes and Noble is better than looking at books on Amazon. Something about activating all the senses. You can smell a Bible, feel it, hear it.”[3]
This resonated with me. When I touch my Bible, I turn the pages, write in it, highlight it, interact with the text and have a conversation with God. I cannot do that with my device. I’m not advocating that anyone stops using their electronic Bible. I’m just saying for me, I’ve got to touch the paper more often. “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz.”
God can use any situation, even a phone in the toilet, to get our attention and teach us a lesson. And through it all, we have to do as Colossians 3:16 says, “sing to God with gratitude in our hearts.” Amen!
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[1] Survey: 75 percent of Americans admit to using phone while in bathroom at https://www.cbsnews.com/news/survey-75-percent-of-americans-admit-to-using-phone-while-in-bathroom/
[2] Splash in the pan: Why do so many smartphones end up down the toilet? At https://metro.co.uk/2014/10/02/splash-in-the-pan-why-do-so-many-smartphones-end-up-down-the-toilet-4889777/.
[3] Griffin Paul Jackson (2014). 8 Reasons You Should Bail on Your Bible App and Get Back to Your Hardcopy at https://griffinpauljackson.com/2014/04/07/8-reasons-to-bail-on-bible-apps/.
7/8/18