Originally “leaving someone to their own devices” metaphorically meant letting them decide for themselves what to do. Now, we can take that literally—as in, these days, people have many (electronic) devices—smart phones, laptops, iPads, e-Readers, etc. Because of this, many people are actually “left to them”—meaning either they choose to spend most or all of their time on them, or others (boss, coworkers, etc.) push them into it by demanding responses.

This results in confusion as well as isolation from the real world for those literally left to their own devices. Social media can enable one to have a lot of “friends”, but what kind of friends are they? Are these people we can share our hearts with, do fun things with, give and get much-needed hugs with? People who will really support and help us in emotional and practical ways when we need it? People who will gladly receive our encouragement and help? Only if we’re truly friends to begin with, and in most cases, only if we can actually get together in person!

What about other ways we use our devices? Answering messages, for example—it’s great and handy to have a means of doing that quickly and easily through an electronic device. But what happens when it takes over and starts to control us instead of the other way around? What once was a “horse” we could ride to get to where we needed to go has now become the “jockey” riding us, and we’ve become the “horse”! Especially when we add checking our devices for news, information, the latest happening on social media, playing games, and so on.

We reach a point where all our devices demand so much from us, by way of responses, content-creation, being checked for news and messages– keeping up so we don’t get left out or in trouble. What to check first? Who to answer first? Which device do we use for that? What kind of communication does each person or group use and prefer—email, text, Messenger, What’sApp, Signal, other apps? That’s a lot to sort out.

Finally, what happens when we have to recharge any of our devices? Or two or all of them at once? How do we find the cord, plug it into the right outlet, and have enough for each of them? Here’s where wires literally get crossed.

I was reminded of this last week when my iPad had no battery left and I needed to use it. Where was the cord? Since I seldom use it, I had to go digging in a drawer—where I found 5 different cords—each for a different device, none of which could be substituted for another. Talk about crossed wires! All tangled up together in the drawer, causing confusion, as I extracted first one then another, finding none of them worked until I tried another drawer and found the iPad cord!

The good that came of that? It inspired me to write this article(!)

That leads us to a deeper parallel issue: In the midst of so much clamor and voices, how can we tell what’s really true, what we need to hear, and who we need to listen to, to grow in wisdom and make the best decisions? “Go here!” “Buy this!” “Do what I say!” “No, do what I say instead!” “Here’s how to… (vote, get business, raise your children, organize your home, get more sleep,…)!” If we listen to and try to follow everything and everyone, we’ll actually get less sleep!

Thankfully we have a way of living and making decisions that works a lot better than being left to our own devices or leaving others to theirs:

Relate—First, to our almighty, all-knowing and wise, all-loving, ever-present, God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Rev. 3:20

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Prov. 3:5-6

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” Rom. 8:15

In other words, He gives us fellowship with Himself, guidance, and a sense of true identity and belonging in Him.

Second, we can and need to relate to others for mutual encouragement and support. Part of relating to the Lord means relating to those He made in His image, that is, people (Gen. 1:27). Sure, we can do that virtually, online, from a distance, if necessary, but as mentioned above, it’s so much better to do that in person whenever possible.

Imagine if the Lord had given Adam a smart phone or tablet and only given him Eve’s contact information after He decided “’It is not good for the man to be alone’” (Gen. 2:18). If they never got together, none of us would be here!

Also, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his [friend]. But pity the one who falls and has no one to help them up.” (Eccles. 4:9)

Often this requires close enough proximity—“…better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.” (Prov. 27:10).

So, take a deep breath. Unplug. Get face to face with the Lord and other people. Do whatever it takes to not be left to your own devices! And help your family and friends do the same. Let your devices serve you and not the other way around.