“Look up,” said the Lord, “for your redemption draws near.” But today, heads are bowed—not in prayer, but to a screen. A short walk to the grocery store reveals it. The slow shuffle of feet, the jerky halts, the sidesteps we all must make to avoid collisions with those who are staring at a glowing rectangle instead of the world around them. These aren’t isolated inci - dents anymore. They are the norm. The cell phone—once hailed as the marvel of modern convenience—has become, for many, a leash. It tugs at their attention, pulls their gaze from every passing tree, every stranger’s smile, and every silent prompting of the Holy Spirit. Time once spent observing, reflecting, or even just existing is now drained by flicks of a thumb on glass. Seconds lost. Minutes wasted. Hours devoured. Sound familiar? Consider 1 Peter 5:8: “Be sober- minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some - one to devour.” Who said the devil wouldn’t use modern wonders to corrupt our minds and block our senses from the beauty of the world God made? There was a time when waiting for a bus meant watching the sky or exchanging pleasantries with a neighbor. Now, it's a scroll through feeds de - signed to feed nothing. There was a time when walking meant thinking—hearing God whisper in the wind, seeing the lessons in daily life. Now, people miss even the most obvious of signs, eyes fixed downward, unaware of both physical and spiritual surroundings. This addiction has become more than a social nuisance. It’s a spiritual epidemic. Isn’t this a false god before us, standing where the One True God belongs? It’s delusional to in - vest so much of our precious time—and for some, even place their hope—in the random, shallow messages that light up our phones. In these mo - ments, the cell phone is no longer a blessing; it’s a curse. Didn’t God warn us in 2 Thessalonians 2:10–12 what would happen if we turned away from Him? “and with every wicked deception di - rected against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them. For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie, in order that judgment may come upon all who have disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness.…” How duped we are—how blind to the spiritual danger wrapped in convenience and glowing glass. The devil doesn’t always need to frighten us—he only needs to distract us. And what better tool than a device that steals time while pretending to give it back? We excuse it with maps, texts, productivity apps. But what’s really happening is erosion. Of time. Of presence. Of awareness. Every second spent staring at a screen while ignoring the world is a second we might have heard from Heaven. A second we might have seen someone in need. A second we might have heard God’s command and commenced with His will for our lives. Yes, technology has its uses. But it was never meant to replace attentiveness to God, or neigh - bor, or the very life we’ve been given—or the lives of those God has placed in our care as blessings. So next time you walk, look up. See the sky. Notice the people. Hear the stillness. Because the moments we overlook in pursuit of artificial stim - ulation may very well be the moments that could have changed our lives—or someone else’s. Life is not lived through a screen. It’s lived with eyes wide open, a heart tuned to God, and time spent wisely.