Do you use a cell phone?
What a crazy question to ask today. If you said, no. I would be shocked. What youth worker doesn’t have a cell phone, and what youth worker isn’t a slave the to stupid thing.
We wrote an article awhile ago called, “Are you addicted to your cellphone“. Take the test and see how you do. It is surprising how attached we/I have become attached to our phones. It is almost alarming.
We stumbled across a great post titled, “Sexting. There, we said it“. It is worth the read, and has generated an epic amount of comments…and some great debates. It has made us thing about how we use our phone in a digital world, and the risks that are involved in owning a personal digital device.
The problem
I love my iPhone 5. It is a great device. It has become my admin assistant. It helps declutter the emails, takes voice messages, and helps me make lists of tasks that need to be done today, tomorrow, and someday. It is a great device, and I will use it for a long time, or until my contact is up.
The issue is that on that awesome little device, I have my personal, and professional life. I have my friends on it, and my spouse on it. I have intimate details, and mundane details. The question is how do you keep them apart?
I am not trying to become the social media police, but we have to be honest with ourselves when it comes to technology that nothing is private…nothing.
What does that mean? It means that every message that is sent, every image, everything could be stolen.
How do we live as ministers of the gospel in light of that?
The Caution
Our cell phone has become an extension of ourselves. It has become apart of me. When it comes to how we live with our digital live we have to stay “above reproach”. That doesn’t mean sinless. It means as Paul is telling Timothy, “that he needs to be above accusations”. We need to lead the way in the digital world for our families, and the students we lead. We need to be cautious.
In the article on More than dodgeball called, “Sexting. There, we said it“, raised some awesome points. Is it wrong to flirt with your wife? No. Is it wrong to sext your wife? No. Could it get you into a huge mess…yes. Should you risk everything for extended intimacy with your wife? It really is up to you.
For me, I want to be above reproach. This past week I was showing a few teenagers photos of my adorable kids, and they wanted my iPhone. I wasn’t going to give it up. They quickly asked if there were “sketchy” photos on it. There wasn’t, and I let them look through my photos…all 3000 of them(probably 2900 of my kids). It has made me wrestle how transparent I am with my digital accounts.
I don’t want to model to the teenagers I serve that I can be someone different online, and at youth group.
How do you handle your phone? How do you protect yourself on this crazy little device?
