The crowded mind
Date
08/26/2026
Hosted By
The crowded mind
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WORLD Radio - The crowded mind
WORLD commentator Janie B. Cheaney considers what a month-long screen fast revealed about the habits that crowd out deep thought, relationships, and the silence in which we learn to pay attention again.
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Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.
LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Lindsay Mast.
NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Not all screen time is frivolous. Phones put sermons and theology podcasts within easy reach—some even have great news podcasts, but I digress.
MAST: Because even good content can crowd out deep thought—and our attention to the people right in front of us. Here is WORLD commentator Janie B. Cheaney
JANIE B. CHEANEY: What does it mean to “be holy”? It’s not an easy concept in a secular age, but the root meaning is to be set apart. Not isolated—just the opposite. To be holy is to be present: first to the Lord, then to family and friends, and finally even to strangers in the checkout line or waiting room.
In his sermon on I Peter 1:15, here’s where our pastor came down from the theoretical. How present are we, to anyone, if we’re staring at our phones half the time?
In the privacy of his own home he caught himself scrolling instead of paying attention. Screens were “sucking the life out of relationships.” The internet is a useful pastoral tool for looking up a quote or a helpful exposition. But once captured, his mind easily wandered into trivialities that nibbled away time, minute by minute.
Even godly content had its limits. What if Christians are beginning to let their phones do their thinking for them? Rather than wrestling with a difficult passage for themselves or with each other, it might be getting too easy to plug in to a theology podcast. Holiness takes work. “Prepare your minds for action,” says the Apostle Peter; action, not passive reception.
Sermon applications are often where the rubber meets the road, but the application of this sermon mashed our congregation into the asphalt. After expositing on Peter’s view of holy living, Pastor challenged us to give up screens for a whole month.
Whoa.
Social media – not a problem for me. Streaming movies and shows? I could probably live with that. Web-surfing might be more of a problem. Podcasting? Well . . .
Podcasts were my brain candy. Walking, shopping, driving, cooking, I needed a voice in my ear, even if subject matter wasn’t especially compelling. I was beginning to wonder why I couldn’t just be quiet. And was this the best use of my mind?
Motivated by such questions, I took the pledge and persevered through the month-long fast, though not perfectly. So did about 70% of the congregation, if not perfectly. The young adults seemed willing, even eager. Some of them formed accountability partnerships to lock down each others’ phones. Many admitted it was hard at first, but after it was over they said things like, “I didn’t realize how much time I was wasting.” “We took more walks with the kids or called friends to meet us at the park.” “We started inviting people over.” “I read three books in a month.”
Surprisingly, most of those with misgivings were older members. Some didn’t think their screen use was a problem; others felt they needed social media to keep up with family and friends. Perhaps they felt isolated without that window on the world. We know too well the negative effect of unlimited screen time on young brains but there may be an unexamined effect on older brains, too.
Thirty days later, how have we changed?
Personally, I’m more selective about podcasts and I’m practicing phone-free weekends. Others say they’re sleeping better, or reading more, or walking unplugged. Maybe we’re paying more attention to the beauties and the duties that surround us. And maybe we’ll learn to listen to the silence, because that’s where the Lord’s still small voice is heard.
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