I have been reading The Shallous: What the internet is doing to our brains. by Nicholas Carr. While there are many findings in the book which are alarming, one I want to share has to do with the most pervasive companion most of us own. It isn't the TV, our computers, our portable tablets nor our e-readers.

It is the cell phone. More than a device to communicate with another person, the smart phone is a mini-computer, a web-browser, a calendar, word-processor, voice mailer, address book, and email and text facilitator, it is almost our lifeline.

I was shocked to learn that the average number of texts sent per day by cell phone users under the age of 25 is an astonishing 120. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY! PER DAY! SEVEN DAYS A WEEK!

For every text sent, we can assume one is read. Assuming each text takes a minute to read or sent -- that's four hours a day. I'm sure no one here is texting that much (or would admit it, if they were) so if none of us are doing that, either the statistic is wrong (unlikely), given that cell phone companies track texting time) or some young people are texting even more than that, so that the average equals 120 texts a day.

Eph. 5:16 says: "...making the most of your time, because the days are evil."

There are a lot of things we can do with our time which are not evil, but rather neutral. But neutral things still keep us from better things.

Imagine how profitable our lives could be if we made the most of our time for spiritual enrichment. If texting hours were reduced to make room for the Word of God, for prayer, for spiritual interaction with others. Just think about that.

By Ralph Walker