The 90s were an incredible time in American history. Neon was the vibe, and I have the photos to prove it.
It was a unique bridge between analog freedom and the dawn of the digital age. Mobile phones and the internet were just getting started, still years away from everyday use. I remember going to the school library to do research. I remember door-to-door salesmen trying to talk my parents into spending roughly one million dollars on a full set of Encyclopedia Britannica. I remember rotary phones, and the sheer determination of the human will it took to call someone, knowing that if you messed up the last digit you had to start over. The decade gave us grunge, the golden era of hip hop, and plenty of boy bands we get reminded of every April 30th.
But for me, one of the most iconic sights and sounds of the 90s came before every Chicago Bulls home game. “What time is it? Game time!”
That music and that motto were electric. Practice was over, personal matters were on pause, and everyone was locked in and in sync. They knew what time it was. Michael Jordan’s Bulls went on to win three championships in a row, and then did it again later in the same decade. Winning three straight is extremely difficult. Doing it twice in one decade is remarkable.
Where We’ve Been
This is the final post in a series called “You Are What You Scroll.” Over the last few weeks we’ve looked at the difficulties of living in a digital age: the temptation to be constantly distracted, the way our affection grows for whatever has our attention, and the reality that we are shaped by what we scroll. Hebrews reminded us to look away to Jesus. First John 2 taught us that following Jesus is learning to love better things than the world offers. Exodus 3 anchored us in the truth that God is greater than we can understand, yet closer than we often realize, so we don’t want to get so wrapped up in screens and entertainment that we miss him in everyday life.
To finish, I want to go back to God’s word. Not to diagnose our problem with phones one more time, but to find a prescription for taking back the life Jesus wants for each of us.
What Time Is It?
Other than having Michael Jordan, I think that Bulls motto was a big part of their mindset and success. It’s a key for us too as we try to climb out of the pitfalls of this digital age. Here’s what Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus:
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16, ESV)
Paul tells believers to look carefully at how they’re walking out their lives. One translation says to “walk circumspectly,” which means looking all around you and paying close attention. Some translations say not as fools but as wise. And then comes the key phrase: making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. When Paul says the days are evil, he means there are competing forces and influences every single day trying to destroy our lives or pull us away from the life Jesus offers.
Because that’s true, it’s essential to be aware and to redeem the time. Think about it this way. You don’t show up to a wedding in pajamas, and you don’t climb into bed wearing a tuxedo. (If you do, that’s a conversation for another day.) If you understand what time it is, you can live wisely and appropriately instead of foolishly.
So Paul is really asking the same question the Bulls asked. What time is it? It’s time to go. It’s time to embrace the life Jesus has for us. It’s game time. It’s time to see the realities of the world around us clearly and reject them in favor of God’s ways and wisdom. In Ephesians 6, Paul goes on to talk about putting on the full armor of God so we can stand in the evil day. There’s a heart preparation and a mindset that every believer needs in order to fully experience what Jesus has for us.
Here are three simple, wise exercises from Scripture that help us live like we know what time it is.
Exercise 1: Start and Stay Surrendered
The first one is about posture.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Psalm 139:23-24, NLT)
This is a prayer and a song, and in it King David asks God to show him anything in his heart or life that is displeasing to him. He is surrendering. Notice he says “point out anything.” He’s ready to repent, to turn to God in whatever way is necessary.
Keeping our hearts in that posture, ready and willing to hear and respond to God, is a wise way to live, and it’s something we come back to again and again. The great news is that whatever God puts his finger on is something he’s committed to helping us overcome.
Starting and staying surrendered means regularly asking God to examine our hearts so we can agree with him a little more each day. Maybe you can admit that you use your screen excessively, or that you’ve been looking at things that don’t please him. If so, the first step is turning to him in surrender and receiving his grace. Surrender doesn’t mean giving up or throwing in the towel. It means choosing his way over our own.
Exercise 2: Scripture Before Screens
The second exercise is about priority, and it comes from Paul’s words to the believers in Rome. They didn’t have phones, but they had entertainment, and much of it was violent, immoral, or idolatrous. There were sports, brutal competition, and plenty of comparison. There was theater, which was often politicized and used to control the narrative about the government or the emperor. Does any of that sound familiar?
Here’s what Paul told people immersed in that environment:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2, NIV)
We’ve talked about the pattern of the world and all the ways advertisers, retailers, and influencers are trying to shape us. This verse says two things. First, don’t be conformed to that pattern. Be transformed by renewing your mind. Second, when we refuse to conform and let God transform us, we see his will more clearly. We start to think more rightly about God, about what he wants from us, and about what he wants for us.
Think of driving a car with fogged-up windows. It’s dangerous. Renewing your mind is like running the defrost, clearing away the fog of comparison, conformity, and covetousness that settles over our hearts and minds. And that renewal happens as God transforms us through his word.
So the second exercise is making it a priority to renew our minds and take back our lives. The motto is easy to remember: Scripture before screens.
It looks like putting what shapes our focus and perspective first, at the very start of the day or even throughout it. When you open your eyes in the morning, let God’s truth and light in before the light of your device. Seek God before you scroll. Look up before you look down. I say “we” because I need this reminder as much as anyone. Even starting small, with five minutes in Scripture before you open social media or check your email, can shift your whole day and how you experience God’s presence.
Exercise 3: Set Your Sights
The final exercise is about perspective, and it comes from another letter of Paul’s, this one to the church in Colossae.
“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4, NLT)
This is a shift in mindset. We’re invited to occupy ourselves with the realities of heaven. We weren’t made by an eternal, glorious God to be consumed and distracted by temporary things. We were made for eternity, and Paul says who we truly are in Christ is yet to be revealed. Our life doesn’t end when we die. It’s only the beginning.
There is wonder and mystery, beauty and majesty in what God has brought us into, and yet we so often settle for boredom, doomscrolling, and easy satisfaction. Heaven is our home. Christ is our prize. Paul is not saying that things on earth don’t matter or don’t need tending. He’s saying an eternal perspective helps us resist comparison, approval-seeking, and the pressure to find our identity in temporary things.
To sum it up, here are three regular habits for taking back the life Jesus has for you:
Start and stay surrendered. Ask God to search your heart.
Scripture before screens. Renew your mind in the Word first.
Set your sights. View today through the lens of eternity.
Why We Call Them Exercises
I called these exercises on purpose. It takes time to see results, but every daily choice matters. Anyone who has started a workout routine knows you don’t see any gains on day one. If we make it our aim, day by day, to keep our posture, priority, and perspective pointed toward God, we’ll break free from the hold our screens have on us and experience the life God wants for us. It comes down to the thousand little choices each day to be God-ward in our hearts, thoughts, and words. That’s what makes us more than what we scroll.
I’ll add one more thing. I’ve had a couple of seasons in my life when I worked out consistently and made it to the gym every day. The times I stayed most consistent were the times I had a gym buddy. It’s easier to skip the gym when nobody expects you. It’s easier to slide back into old habits when nobody knows what you’re trying to change. But when someone is walking with you, checking in, and encouraging you, it gets easier to keep going.
The same is true here. Having people to huddle up with, people who help you remember what time it is, makes a real difference. Get connected to a small group or a serve team, or show up to gatherings where you can find others walking the same path. That’s what keeps us in a “game time” mindset.
We need one another. So let’s move forward together, praising God for his goodness and trusting his promise to meet us with grace as we keep him in his rightful place and follow him every day.
And if you haven’t yet decided to follow Christ, the Bible says, “Today is the day of salvation.” You can take that first step, make that first choice, today. We’d love to pray with you.