Hello and welcome to the Dr. Nurse. Mama show prescribing Hope for Healthy Families here on American Family Radio. Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner.
Dr. Jessica Peck And mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck. Well hey there friends and welcome to my favorite part of the afternoon, getting to spend time with you prescribing Hope for Healthy Families. Listen, you may have noticed if you're a regular listener, you may have noticed that we had a lot of best of shows over the last couple of weeks. I have been doing, doing some traveling and we're always grateful to have the opportunity to re air the shows that we feel like just really grabbed our hearts, that convicted us, that encouraged us and so we're grateful for that opportunity and we have been traveling now before, I'm m going to tell you a little bit about my travels but before I do that, I just want to acknowledge everything that's happening in the news. It feels like we are living in a new cycle that is just constant, that is very chaotic and it seems the certainty is uncertainty. And just when we feel like we're getting to a little peaceful place in the news that is, oh, that narrative is overturned. We are praying especially for those military connected families who are facing lots of uncertainty in the face of global con, conflict. And I just want to encourage you to remember to communicate hope to your families, to not have messages of fear, especially if you have little ones in the house. It's so, so hard. Believe me, I know my kids are calling me out. It's hard not to be glued to the news 247 because it can feel like things are changing in a matter of moments. There's a ceasefire, maybe there's not, maybe there is all of these things. But our kids need our voices to be the constant in our homes. And so make sure that you're getting news from a trusted source and you're getting whatever you need to be updated but that you are engaged with your family. They need your presence very much during this time. They need us to be physically, emotionally and mentally present with them. And I was able to do that and to travel a little bit with my family. And what I'm going to share with you today, I want to be clear up front. I am not a Bible scholar, I am not an expert, I don't have a degree in any biblical studies. But I'm just sharing my perspective with you as a traveler, as a sojourner. And it was really very applicable to what I'm going to talk about today because as I explored some parts of the Ancient world. I realized that what Solomon said is largely true. There is nothing under the sun. Problems that people faced in biblical times and ancient times are really the same problems that we're facing here today. They may manifest themselves a little bit differently, but there are lessons that we can learn. And it just made God's timeless truths resonate more deeply in my heart. Now one of the places I was able to go go is Athens. Now, not Athens, Georgia or Athens, Texas. I actually went to Athens, Greece. I have never been there before. And I was really excited to go. And maybe if you're hearing about Athens, the first thing that may come to mind is the Olympics. Or you may have other images. And really you step into a city that is layered with history and so much older than the United States. You know, when we would go places, they would say, well, this isn't original. It was replaced in about a thousand B.C. and living in a country that's just a couple hundred years old, that was a really big change. But in Athens, really there are ancient stones whispering the rise and fall of empires. And it is where the early church once took root. And as we approached Athens, you approached the Acropolis. That means the high city. And it was awe inspiring. Here's this modern city of Athens and there is a, rock that just rises out of the center of the city. And every, everywhere you go, the entire modern city is still centered on this huge rise in rock where you see the Parthenon on the Acropolis on top of the high city or the high rock. So you start to climb this very winding path to the top. And the steps are made of marble. It's very smooth and very, very slippery. And you think about how many thousands of years, how many millions of people have made that hike up to the top of the Acropol. And it just resonates with history. And the sun is warming that stone. And I thought about what a slippery slope it is really metaphorically and realistically and physically. And the air is very, it was very dry and there were olive trees everywhere. And everywhere we went there was reference to biblical history. Whether our guide was secular or not, or any kind of background, there were all of these references to biblical history. And so they talked about the olive trees. And as you reach the summit, you climb up this huge rock. You stand near the Parthenon. Now this is a huge, awe inspiring temple that once honored the goddess Athena. Now it has really towering columns. It's a massive cold marble structure that just towers above you. And as you walk, you can't Help but feel intimidated. You feel the power that meant to be communicated to you. And it was designed to proclaim the glory of that city, the power of that ruler. And now I couldn't help but think as I walked through those columns, they were just markers of the passing of time. And they were calling out of the longing of every human heart for something that's more enduring. And instead of accepting God's timeless truths that he's given to us, we try to create our own. Now, the Parthenon was completed about 500 years before Christ was born, and it was the center of Athenian life. I couldn't imagine being in the modern city and being able to see it most of the time when you were driving around. But in those ancient times, without skyscrapers or modern buildings, you absolutely could see it from everywhere you went. And it was built to reflect strength and wisdom and beauty. And it was a monument to human striving. And now it is still there, but it is weathered and it is broken. And it echoes Paul's words from Acts 17. He addresses the people of Athens, and I'll talk about that here in a minute. And he said, the God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And that location, as we're standing at the top of the Parthenon, we looked down and to the right, and there was this really huge rock, like a boulder. It was really, really big boulder. But in the shadow of the Acropolis, in the shadow of the Parthenon, it seemed relatively small. And we asked our guide, what. What is that rock? And she said, it's something called the aeropagus. It's a combination of the Greek words for God of war and stone. It literally means the God of war's rock. And the equivalent to that in Roman, to the God Ares in Roman mythology is Mars. So by the time of Paul by of the early Christian church, this location was under Roman control. So it was called Mars Hill. Now, you may have heard that term before. That's where it came from. So that older Greek term, the aeropagus, that was still used in Mars Day, and it referred to a council that met there on this rock. There were seats that were at the top of this rock. And Paul gave his famous address on Mars Hill at the aeropagus in front of the aeropagus. But for the most part, it refers to the group of Athenian leaders and thinkers who met on the hill. And the purpose, purpose of this Athenian aeropagus was kind of like the Jewish Sanhedrin, from the best that I've been able to read. So both were these groups of very respected local men who were charged with talking about these spiritual or philosophical ideas that were coming into the city. And they had, So they were really considered conservative in the sense that they defended the status quo. And they were used a little bit like a court to settle disputes and to judge certain cases. And so unlike, the Sanhedrin, though, the Athenian Aeropagus was primarily interested in defending this concept of the Greek gods.
Paul's sermon in Athens challenged a world steeped in idolatry
And from a Christian perspective, I thought about Paul's sermon at the Aeropagus. Here is the Acropolis, here is the Parthenon, and it is huge. It was just crazy big and impressive. And here's Paul speaking at the seat of that power. That had to be one of just the most powerful moments, I think, in my opinion, in scripture, where the Gospel enters into direct conversation with the culture. It was bold, it was spirit led. It was engaging a world that was steeped in idolatry and searching for meaning. And as I traveled in other ancient places, that's what I saw was temples built to gods, statues built all over the place, the human heart longing to worship. And yet Paul stood here at the Aeropagus, the high court of Athens, where these ideas were debated, where worldviews were shaped. And he was surrounded by these statues, by these temples devoted to gods of all kinds. Yet rather than condemn his listeners outright, he started where they were. He said. He acknowledged that they had spiritual hunger. He said, I see that in every way, you are very religious. And he referenced one of their altars to an unknown God. But he used wisdom, he used humility, and he used courage. He was very courageous to use that cultural entry point to proclaim the truth of one true God, not multiple gods. And I saw that they had gods for everything. Gods for war, gods for fertility, gods for weather, gods for whatever it was. He said, there is one true God who does not live in temples, who is not formed by human hands, but the creator of all things, who gives life and breath and desires to be known. And he made it very clear that this God is not far from any of us. And he quoted their own poets to say, in him we live and move and have our being. Paul's message, honestly, was radically different from those philosophical debates that were common in Athens. It wasn't just intellectual, it was relational, and it was a message of redemption. And he revealed God had appointed a day of judgment. God had provided a savior, Jesus, who he raised from the dead. He and some of those people who listened there at the Areopagus, they mocked him. Some walked away, but some believed. And that is really the hope. And every time we share our faith that we know not everyone will accept the gospel. But the truth spoken in love always plants, seeds. And from a Christian lens, Paul's sermon is a reminder that the idols of this world, whether they're carved from marble or coded into apps like we have digital idols today, they can never satisfy that deep longing for truth and for purpose and redemption like Jesus can. But like Paul, we are called to stand in the center of culture, in the center of a broken, misguided world, not in fear, but in faith, offering the gospel to. As the answer to every searching heart. And as I stood there, I felt the weight of that history. This place that was once filled with statues of gads and the highest echelon of human earthly power and now draws people all over the world. They're not worshiping there, but they're wondering. And as a Christian, you might feel both the weight of the past and the hope of that gospel. And we know that our God cannot be confined to a structure, no matter how magnificent that structure is, because his temple isn't made of marble. His temple is made of the human body, of human hearts that are yielded to him. And even though you can't see the ruins that I'm describing, you feel the reverence they. They inspire. But I felt reverence for Paul's message of courage. That quiet, that the what he felt. Not the emptiness, really, of a city full of idols, but the possibility of transformation, of a hope that lives beyond the greatest glories that the earth can provide, and that truth spoken in love still echoes today. So I want to welcome you, friends. We are going to step into a, further conversation on this one that echoes from the Parthenon, from the Acropolis in ancient Athens, but really to the heart of our homes today. And In Acts, chapter 17, Paul stood in front of the Parthenon, and he boldly proclaimed that the one true God does not dwell in temples built by human hands.
Dr. Jessica Peck And we fast forward to today. Our idols might look different, but the worship is often the same. From smartphones to schedules, from achievement to affirmation. As modern families, we are surrounded by what I'm now seeing as digital temples that demand our time, that shape our worldview, and that are silently replacing the authority of God in our lives. But there is good news, because God, in his grace, always calls his people back. And today I'm going to talk to you, honestly, faithfully and practically, about what God has put on my heart and how families can recognize the idols that are all around us. We may not live in the shadow of the Parthenon, but we live in the shadow of a smartphone. So how do we recalibrate our lives? How do we rebuild our homes around the worship of the one true God? Because those eight idols of the ancient world, they were more than religious, just symbols. They were tools of culture, of control and identity. And we are going to look at how we can learn from those and how we can reshape our family's worldview. All this month, we're talking about 52 habits for healthy families. All this year, this month especially, we're talking about those habits related to technology. That's something that's invaded our lives, that dominates our lives more than any ancient structure ever will. Don't go away. I'll be right back. Giving you hope on how you can love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, your soul, and your mind. I'll see you on the other side of this break.
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Dr. Jessica Peck Welcome back, friends. That song is Abide by Aaron Williams and Dwell Songs. What a great message for us today. When we feel the pool of culture that is common constantly pulling our heart, our mind, our soul, our attention, our time, it is so important for us to abide in Christ, to abide there. We're talking today about how we love the Lord our God with all our heart, our soul and our mind, and how we resist modern idols. As I was sharing before the break, I was able to travel in the last month to some ancient parts of the world, including Athens. And. And when we look at those idols of the ancient world, they give us some powerful insight into some of the forces that are shaping modern families, our families today. So looking back in the ancient Mediterranean world, especially Greek and Roman societies, idols were physical representation of gods that were made up by men. And these were often placed in temples and homes and public squares and marketplaces. But they weren't just about private worship. They were, about political power and national identity. They used idol worship to unify people under a shared religion and culture. So for example, in Athens, the goddess Athena, she wasn't just a deity. It was a symbol of Athenian pride, of Athenian victory, of Athenian virtue. And in Rome, emperors declared themselves to be divine and they required people to worship Caesar as a God. And idolatry became a loyalty test to the empire. We. The same thing happened with Nebuchadnezzar, didn't we? And that modern parallels today, our loyalty is still tested through idol worship now, not through temple sacrifices, but conformity to cultural norms, through consumerism, through productivity, through success. And the idols of our day often reflect what does society demand that we are pledging our allegiance to? And it was interesting. There's also an island in Greece called Delos, and it was a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea is one of the considered to be one of the most sacred sites in the ancient world, but it wasn't. It was believed to be the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, twin gods of light and hunt. But it wasn't just a religious center. It was commerce, it was politics. And these sanctuaries and temples were grand. They had gold. They said, we are wealthy, we are successful. It became a major slave trading port where this sacred space and human exploitation coexisted. When you don't have truth that honors people, that honors God, then you don't honor people. And it was a place where they had festivals. And it shows how religion and economy and political agendas are really tangled up in each other. And idolatry often Hides in what is celebrated, what is normalized, what is profitable, what is successful. And so these idols were built to demonstrate strength of that culture, to demonstrate superiority of that culture. Our gods are greater than yours. So. And so are we. They wanted to maintain social control, to make sure that you were afraid of them, that you would comply with whatever was told to you to do. And if we honor the gods, they'll bless our crops, we'll be a wealthy image, we'll be a wealthy country. And they really wanted to elevate humanity's image because these gods often looked like idealized versions of humans, reflecting who people wished that they were. And looking back at the Parthenon, I mean, really, that was kind of the. The crux. And now it's still. It's still there, but it is rotting, it is crumbling. And when we look at that ancient Greek religion, it was polytheistic, like I said, they worshiped many gods and goddesses and worship often sacrifices and festivals and offering. And those temples and those gods were believed to dwell in those physical places. And that is really. Can you imagine then the apostle Paul visiting athens in the first century. And Scripture says in Acts 17, His Spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. And that sermon that he had talked about, this is a culture that's obsessed with beauty, that's obsessed with success. And we see those modern parallels. And this is going to be something maybe a little controversial, but I'm going to say it anyway. Sometimes we can treat our smartphone as a portable temple. It's always present, it always invites our attention. And if we're not careful in what we consume in our smartphones, because smartphones are an object, they're not inherently good or bad. But what we invite, through those smartphones, can really alter our worldview and can really redirect our hearts. Social media is an altar of affirmation that we can worship at if we're not careful. Getting that affirmation can be more important than anything else. We can treat productivity, we can treat perfectionism like false gods. We can use streaming or gaming or shopping as numbing agents, as coping mechanisms that we turn to before we turn to prayer, before we turn to scripture, before we turn to godly counsel. If we are doing those things, then in some ways, those can be idols. And in many way, idols. Today, they reflect our ideal self images, our curated social media Persona, or our curated social media feed how we look as an elevated, amplified version, an idealized version of what we want ourselves to be. It's a status symbol. We see personal success, even our children's achievements. We don't always worship gods as the ancient cultures did, but we do worship control. We worship beauty. We worship fame, we worship comfort. We, worship relevance. We worship all of these things. So this matters. These, looking at this culture, this of idol worship, we, it's very easy for us to say, oh well that's so foolish. We don't do that. But we do. And idols do shape our family's culture. So I, you have to think, what are your habits? What are your priorities? What are your conversations? Those reveal a lot about what you truly value. Because idols demand devotion. They demand sacrifice. Now in ancient times, people offered food or gold or even the lives of themselves, their loved ones, their children's or other people to appease the gods. But today we do make sacrifices at digital idols. I know, isn't this so convicting? I'm convicted. We sacrifice time with our family to spend time on our device. We sacrifice our emotional presence being distracted by all the screens around us. We sacrifice rest when we're scrolling way too late at night. We sacrifice our integrity on the altars of work, on the altars of success, on the altars of digital distraction. And those idols distort our identity and our worth. So in ancient times, they believe the gods gave them value. Well, don't we believe that today? Don't we believe those idols give us social approval, social status, financial security? We get achievement M. We get success. And we see that idols lead to spiritual blindness.
Jesus dismantled the power of those idols by offering a better way
Just like Paul saw in athens in Acts 17. A city full of idols is often full of confusion, of restlessness and spiritual hunger. And we see those things in our families today. We see when we have a house full of idols is filled with confusion, is filled with, with restlessness, discontent with spiritual hunger. Here's the good news. Jesus dismantled the power of those idols. He completely destroyed it. Not just by condemning them, but by offering a better way. He calls us to worship in spirit and in truth, not in temples made by human hands, but to worship in our hearts that are fully surrendered to him. So I want to encourage you today and challenge you even to resist cultural idolatry. That's so, so hard to do. And we can't do it by hiding from the world because we are in the world, but not of the world. But we can do it by living with intentional Christ centered clarity. And so ask yourselves, what are the forces that are shaping your family and how do we recenter those forces around God's word and around Worship of the Creator and not something that is created. We have to model for our kids, for our family, for our spouses. That Jesus is Lord, not success, not image, not comfort, not wealth. And before we would say. Before we say, oh well, we would never worship idols. We have to ask ourselves, what gets your best attention? What gets your affection and what gets your energy? So I'm going to give you 10 questions to help you discern some idols in your life, to help you think. Think, Are there idols in your life? Let me ask you these 10 questions as I ask them to myself and as you ask them to yourself too. Just have a moment of honesty here before the Lord. Here's Question number one. What do you think about most often? Where does your mind drift to when you have quiet moments? Where do your thoughts go when you need escape or comfort? What are you thinking about most often? Question number two. What are you relying on to feel secure? What makes you feel in control? Is it your savings account? Is it your job title? Is it your reputation? Is it your physical health? Is it your relationships? Is it your social status? What are you relying on to feel secure? Question number three. What if taken from you, would feel like your life is over? What are you most afraid of having taken from you? What do you fear losing the most? What would shake your sense of self or worth? Question number four. Where are you sacrificing? Where are you sacrificing your time, your energy, your money? What's receiving the best of you? What's receiving the best of your focus, your attention, your resources? Look at your calendar, look at your credit card statement. Where is your time, your energy, your money going? Number five. What are you most anxious or worried about? Because our worries point to where our treasures are. What do you feel like you have to protect at all cost? Is it a secret? Is it a status? Is it something that's physical here? Question number six. Whose approval matters most to you? Whose approval are you chasing? Whose affirmation are you craving? Do you desire to please God or please others? Question number seven. What do you turn to when you're stressed, when you're overwhelmed? When you're sad, when you're worried? Is it prayer? Is it scripture? Is it biblical counsel? Or is it entertainment? Is it treating yourself? Is it scrolling? Is it shopping? Is it something else? Number eight. What? What are you envying in others? What is something that someone else has that you wish that you had? Maybe you idolize something that they have? It's success, it's beauty, it's influence, it's Comfort, it's relationships that you don't have. Question number nine. What gives you a sense of identity? When people ask who you are, what, what do you tell them? Is it being a parent? Is it your professional? Is it being a good person? Is it being an achiever, being successful, being rich? Would you still know who you are if you didn't have that? And question number 10. Are you willing to sin to get something or to keep something? Would you lie? Would you manipulate? Would you compromise your integrity to hold on to that one thing in your life? Now, these are tough, tough questions.
Technology can be a modern day temple that can be used in wrong ways
And there are things in life that can be good. Success can be, good and used for the glory of God. And there are lots of things that we have. But if it is really competing for your attention and you're putting that above God's plan for you, that is a sign of concern. And what do you do if you're feeling that way? Well, you ask God to search your heart like David prayed in Psalm 139, Search me, O God, know my heart. See if there is any offensive way in me, lead me in the way everlasting. Because idols don't always look evil. They don't always even look obvious. A lot of times they're good things that we've just put in the wrong place in our life. So sometimes it's a good thing that's just in the wrong place. And the beauty of the gospel is God doesn't expose our idols just to shame us, to punish us. He does it to free us. And so I think as families, there are especially families living in America, there are a lot of idols that we can have. And one of those things, those objects that can be a good tool used in the wrong way is the smartphone that can be a modern idol that we're holding right in our hands every single day. There is power in this phone because you have an invisible tether to it. You check it first thing when you wake up. You look for it to charge before you go to sleep. It may dictate how you connect with other people, how you connect with the world, how you learn about the world, even how you view the world world. And it replaces spiritual disciplines, it replaces time that we spend with God by scrolling. And all of those things that we do on the phone and how our devices shape and our identity and our worldview. Sometimes we can let them dictate, our worldview more than even scripture does. And technology can be a modern day temple because like ancient temple smartphones, they impress us with their design with their innovation, with their influence, and they become the lens through which we're interpreting value and truth and beauty. And so here's a reflection question for you. What is forming you right now more. Is it God's word or is it your smartphone social media feed? Is it the information you're getting off your smartphone? That smartphone algorithm profoundly shapes our worldview, often without even realizing it. Because those algorithms are designed to learn our behavior and then feed us content that aligns with what we want, our preferences, our emotions and our desires, our goals. Well, it can be convenient, but it can also distort our perception of truth. So when we come back, we'll talk about how that algorithm shapes our worldview, and I'll also give you some practical strategies for families to recalibrate. If you have idols popping up in your house like we all fight with, I'll give you some help and hope when we come back.
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Can't Steal My Joy by Josiah Queen ft. Brandon Lake In the Valley of the shadow I got a feeling it's the season that'll make me grow I'm still breathing I got praise in my lungs and a choir in my soul can't steal my joy can't steal my, joy.
Dr. Jessica Peck Welcome back, friends. That song is Can't Steal My Joy by Josiah Queen featuring Brandon Lake. And, I hope that wherever you are today, whatever you're doing, as you're driving along the road, as you're delivering mail, as you're protecting the streets, if you're picking up kids from vacation Bible school, which we should all be praying for, vacation Bible schools that are going on all over the country. I hope that whatever is going on, whatever you're facing, that your joy can't be stolen, because we have a hope that doesn't disappoint. And I'm talking today about some of my recent travels in the last month. Being fortunate to go to the city of Athens, Greece, and seeing the Parthenon and the Acropolis and looking at that and really coming home feeling convicted about modern idols that we have because it's easy for Us to stand in the shadow of those temples and to feel like it was so foolish to worship a statue. But we worship a little tiny lighted blue square. If we're honest. If we think about how we prioritize, that smartphone, it can easily become an idol in our life and we can treat technology as a false temple. Now it is concerning to me the smartphone algorithm, especially in social media or newsfeed, because it is reshaping our worldview without us even thinking about it. Now before, when we would get a newspaper delivered to our house, that newspaper was what it was and it was read and we thought about it. But now, if you think about it, how algorithms work is you click on one story, it feeds you more stories like that, until all of a sudden you think this is the way that the world is.
Algorithms can shape our worldview, whether we're aware of it
So let me talk to you about some ways that the algorithm, the nameless kind of algorithm that seems fuzzy and scary to us at the same time, how it can shape our worldview. Now algorithms tend to show you more of what you already believe or what you already engage with. So over time you, this can create an echo chamber where any opposing views are filtered out. You're only exposed to one side of the issue. Now this is what's concerning for me, especially with young kids, because they can really believe anything they want to believe because the algorithm will automatically funnel them into an echo chamber that says to them, oh yes, this is right, this is the world, this is how it is. And you start to believe that your perspective is the only reasonable one, the only moral one, and others are just ignorant, dangerous or unworthy, worthy of attention. Well, that's not really a gospel centric view. The algorithm also promotes posts that are highly liked, that are curated, that are getting a lot of attention, a lot of shares, and that trains us to weigh the worth of someone's words or their platform by how many people like them, what they look like, how many people approve of them. And so we can develop anxiety even, or low self worth or a skewed sense of success based on what others post, because our posts don't get as much attention and we forget that's often a filtered highlight reel and whatever content content you engage with most. One of the things that concerns me about just really being passive, about getting your spiritual content just from social media is this kind of discipleship by default. And you let influencers on social media, it, just kind of decide how you're going to be discipled and you're discipled by content creators that you may or may not know. And if we're not careful about this, in curating that content ourselves, we realize that our beliefs and our habits and our values start to reflect those cultural trends more than biblical truth. And it shapes how we view our relationships, how we view our purpose, how we view God. Algorithms also are built to keep us engaged. And we can become addicted to instant gratification. It serves us content that gives us a quick dopamine hit. In fact, I was just at a conference last week where there was a very highly accomplished animator who spoke and talked about the power of storytelling. And he talked about how intentionally they use dopamine, serotonin, other feel good chemicals. They take you through a specific cascade of those because it makes you more connected physically, emotionally, mentally to the story, and it builds brand loyalty. That's pretty scary stuff if you think about manipulating how we're manipulating with storytelling those things. We all want a good story, but if we're not careful, if we're not intentional, those things are happening without us even being aware of it. We can. And if we're addicted to instant gratification, we can become more impatient, more distracted, less inclined to engage in conversations that are difficult. Say we're having some family disagreement or some intense family fellowship. As one of my past guests put it, you have no tolerance for those conversations that take a long time and that don't make you feel good. You're only looking for conversations that make you feel good. We also can idolize just numbing out if we're feeling overwhelmed or anxious. Well, don't worry. That algorithm is ready with a stream of distractions. And over time, we turn to our phone instead of facing those hard emotions or seeking God in all of that. And we miss opportunities for spiritual growth because we've learned to numb things out rather than to reflect. We've learned to react rather than to pray. One of the most serious things that can happen if we're not careful with our algorithm. And if we idolize our algorithm, it can redefine truth because that content is curated based on popularity, not on accuracy. And we've got opinion, we've got misinformation, we've got half truths that happen. And we start to think, well, truth is flexible. Truth is relative. Truth is emotional rather than truth is rooted in God's word. It also distorts what we value because if our feed is filled with luxury, with success, with beauty, with other people having perfect lives, we start to idolize that and we believe that's what matters. I would just be happy if I could have that. And sometimes even Christian content can do that because it, we don't want to water down the gospel. We gotta, we can't chase what looks good over what is good as designed by God.
Have scripture before screen time to reclaim time that technology is stealing
So when you so how to resist algorithm discipleship? Well, you start your day in the work before you encounter the world. Have scripture before screen time. Open your day with God's word, with prioritizing God. I believe, I really do believe that God honors those little motions of discipline, those little motions of obedience that we have. And if we open our Bibles every day and say God speak to me, that I believe that God will bless that. And research backs that up. Research shows that people who engage with scripture four days a week or more are much more likely to be happier, to be more content, to be. They're less likely to engage in risk taking behaviors. Start your day in the Word before you face the world and then audit your feed. Ask as something's coming across. Say, is this forming me more into Christ's image? Is this edifying? Is it uplifting? Is it noble? Is it praiseworthy? Think about all of those things and if not not, don't engage with it. Curate your feed to make you more like Christ. And we are talking all this month about some tech habits, using screen time limits, using fasting, whatever it is. Tech free zone, tech free time. We'll be talking all about those on Friday, so pay attention to Friday shows because we'll talk about some of those practical things that we can do and follow voices of truth, not just trends. Don't follow who's popular, who seems to be, be the most popular. Ask God to give you discernment, to listen to those voices of truth. And I think it's so important for us to regularly unplug from the algorithm to reset our heart, to reset our perspective, to disconnect from that dopamine rush that happens and to invest in people. Recently I had a guest on who was talking about some of the research that's coming out, talking about how much time we engage in social media, how much time we engage in our phone. And she said something that has stuck with me, thinking that this generation will die with more memories of other people's lives than their own. That's pretty convicting. God designs our, God designed our hearts to be shaped by the Holy Spirit, not to be swayed by algorithms. So we have to ask him to guard our minds, to recalibrate our attention. And Romans 12 really says it best. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be Transformed by the renewing of your mind. So what are some practical strategies for families to recalibrate? You're thinking. Okay, all right, I get what you're saying here. What do we do about it? Well, the first thing that we need to do is reclaim our time. I'm convinced that technology is the thief of time. And we need to reclaim our time to have daily rhythms of scripture, of prayer, of worship, music, of, silence, even. Even if that just starts in two to three minute bursts over time, that really builds up. So go back and listen to the doctor, nurse, mama coaching minutes. Ever since January, every week on the Friday show, we've introduced a new habit that will help you with some of those daily rhythms. It's so important to have family Sabbath, to have tech free hours, whether that's tech free Tuesday, as we have occasionally here in my house, we have a sacred Sunday. Whatever it is, we need to start our day with scripture before screen and just reclaim some of that, those daily rhythms that we have and reclaim some of the time that technology is stealing from us. Once we reclaim that time, we need to use that time to reorder our affections. We need to teach them that worship is a daily act. It's not just something we do on Sunday. Worship is something that we do every single day. Every moment we're awake, we are thinking about how can we honor God with our lives? And that can come through media discernment. Why do we love this show? Why does it lead us to value? Why is this habit forming for me? Is this building me up? I think about the verse in Ephesians. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful. Building others up according to their needs. And the media that we consume needs to build us up as well. And then we need to rebuild our own house as a temple, our own home, our own hearts as a place of worship. And that can be, that can be hard to do, but we can do it. Because in this day and age when we have such cultural pool, we've got to lead our families away from idols, and we've got to point them toward the identity that they have in Christ. Your worth is not in your followers, in your grades, in your sports medals and your number of likes. It is in being deeply known and loved, loved by God. And one of the best ways we can do this is replace shame with invitation. So instead of just being the phone police, instead of being, you know, the, the voice of truth that's constantly preaching, we can coach Instead, we can invite. Instead, we can provide a, compelling alternative. Instead of saying, you're spending too much time on your phone, say, hey, I'm spending too much time on my phone. We are spending too much time on our phones. Let's grow together. Let's edify each other in this. Can we create a culture in our family where we can hold each other accountable? Respect, respectfully. That can be really, really important because Scripture is clear about our command to do this. Exodus 20:3 says, you shall have no other gods before me. Romans 12:2, As I just read, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And Matthew 6:21 tells, Us, where your treasure is, is there your heart will be also. So I encourage you to have a conversation with your families and maybe do a modern idol inventory. Think, what has our family's heart, what has our time, what has our attention, what has our affection, what has our worship, even if we didn't recognize it until now because we can think about worshiping in the idols of technology and media. Are we reaching for our phone before we're reaching for God?
Dr. Jessica Peck Are.
Dr. Jessica Peck Ah, we do. We feel anxious when we don't have access to our device or we can't check our notifications, or how often are you reading scripture compared to social media or the news?
Sometimes we can idolize success and productivity in our homes
And are you shaping your opinions more from influencers, from news headlines, or from the word of God? So sometimes those possible idols could be entertainment or control or distraction or influence or instant gratification. Sometimes we can idolize success and productivity in our homes. If we measure our worth by our accomplishments, if we are struggling to rest, if we feel guilty when we're not doing something, we have the Martha syndrome. If we're over scheduling our family to prove something, maybe to other people or maybe just to ourselves, we can idolize work or achievement or busyness or perfectionism. Sometimes we idolize image and identity. We compare ourselves with others on social media or in real life. We obsess over how we look, how our house looks, how our kids look, how are their behavior looks. We are idolizing pride and approval and reputation and beauty. Sometimes we can idolize a good thing that's our family. But we rely on our spouse, our kids, our friends to meet needs only God can fill. Or we fear disappointing people more than we fear disobeying God. Or we elevate our role as a parent, a spouse, a leader to define our worth. We are idolizing family and children and affirmation and control in relationships or we're idolizing security or comfort over anything or other people's opinions. What do we do? Well, name it. Idols lose their power when we bring them into the light. And we can repent not with shame, but with open hearts, with open hands. Because it is God's kindness that leads us to repentance. And we can re center our homes and our hearts. Ask God to take his rightful place again and worship and serve and orient your daily rhythms around God and replace those idols. Don't just remove them. Replace them with truth. Replace them with habits. We're helping you do that here with 52 habits for healthy families. And the human heart is made for worship. It's woven into our very being. But because of our brokenness, we settle for lesser things. And those idols in our world may be small enough to fit in our pockets, but the invitation of God is way bigger than that. And he's still calling you. Not to shame, but to truth and love and life. And that's where hope begins again. And we'll begin it again here tomorrow. See you then.
Jeff Chamblee The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
Hello and welcome to the Dr. Nurse. Mama show prescribing Hope for Healthy Families here on American Family Radio. Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner.
Dr. Jessica Peck And mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck. Well hey there friends and welcome to my favorite part of the afternoon, getting to spend time with you prescribing Hope for Healthy Families. Listen, you may have noticed if you're a regular listener, you may have noticed that we had a lot of best of shows over the last couple of weeks. I have been doing, doing some traveling and we're always grateful to have the opportunity to re air the shows that we feel like just really grabbed our hearts, that convicted us, that encouraged us and so we're grateful for that opportunity and we have been traveling now before, I'm m going to tell you a little bit about my travels but before I do that, I just want to acknowledge everything that's happening in the news. It feels like we are living in a new cycle that is just constant, that is very chaotic and it seems the certainty is uncertainty. And just when we feel like we're getting to a little peaceful place in the news that is, oh, that narrative is overturned. We are praying especially for those military connected families who are facing lots of uncertainty in the face of global con, conflict. And I just want to encourage you to remember to communicate hope to your families, to not have messages of fear, especially if you have little ones in the house. It's so, so hard. Believe me, I know my kids are calling me out. It's hard not to be glued to the news 247 because it can feel like things are changing in a matter of moments. There's a ceasefire, maybe there's not, maybe there is all of these things. But our kids need our voices to be the constant in our homes. And so make sure that you're getting news from a trusted source and you're getting whatever you need to be updated but that you are engaged with your family. They need your presence very much during this time. They need us to be physically, emotionally and mentally present with them. And I was able to do that and to travel a little bit with my family. And what I'm going to share with you today, I want to be clear up front. I am not a Bible scholar, I am not an expert, I don't have a degree in any biblical studies. But I'm just sharing my perspective with you as a traveler, as a sojourner. And it was really very applicable to what I'm going to talk about today because as I explored some parts of the Ancient world. I realized that what Solomon said is largely true. There is nothing under the sun. Problems that people faced in biblical times and ancient times are really the same problems that we're facing here today. They may manifest themselves a little bit differently, but there are lessons that we can learn. And it just made God's timeless truths resonate more deeply in my heart. Now one of the places I was able to go go is Athens. Now, not Athens, Georgia or Athens, Texas. I actually went to Athens, Greece. I have never been there before. And I was really excited to go. And maybe if you're hearing about Athens, the first thing that may come to mind is the Olympics. Or you may have other images. And really you step into a city that is layered with history and so much older than the United States. You know, when we would go places, they would say, well, this isn't original. It was replaced in about a thousand B.C. and living in a country that's just a couple hundred years old, that was a really big change. But in Athens, really there are ancient stones whispering the rise and fall of empires. And it is where the early church once took root. And as we approached Athens, you approached the Acropolis. That means the high city. And it was awe inspiring. Here's this modern city of Athens and there is a, rock that just rises out of the center of the city. And every, everywhere you go, the entire modern city is still centered on this huge rise in rock where you see the Parthenon on the Acropolis on top of the high city or the high rock. So you start to climb this very winding path to the top. And the steps are made of marble. It's very smooth and very, very slippery. And you think about how many thousands of years, how many millions of people have made that hike up to the top of the Acropol. And it just resonates with history. And the sun is warming that stone. And I thought about what a slippery slope it is really metaphorically and realistically and physically. And the air is very, it was very dry and there were olive trees everywhere. And everywhere we went there was reference to biblical history. Whether our guide was secular or not, or any kind of background, there were all of these references to biblical history. And so they talked about the olive trees. And as you reach the summit, you climb up this huge rock. You stand near the Parthenon. Now this is a huge, awe inspiring temple that once honored the goddess Athena. Now it has really towering columns. It's a massive cold marble structure that just towers above you. And as you walk, you can't Help but feel intimidated. You feel the power that meant to be communicated to you. And it was designed to proclaim the glory of that city, the power of that ruler. And now I couldn't help but think as I walked through those columns, they were just markers of the passing of time. And they were calling out of the longing of every human heart for something that's more enduring. And instead of accepting God's timeless truths that he's given to us, we try to create our own. Now, the Parthenon was completed about 500 years before Christ was born, and it was the center of Athenian life. I couldn't imagine being in the modern city and being able to see it most of the time when you were driving around. But in those ancient times, without skyscrapers or modern buildings, you absolutely could see it from everywhere you went. And it was built to reflect strength and wisdom and beauty. And it was a monument to human striving. And now it is still there, but it is weathered and it is broken. And it echoes Paul's words from Acts 17. He addresses the people of Athens, and I'll talk about that here in a minute. And he said, the God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And that location, as we're standing at the top of the Parthenon, we looked down and to the right, and there was this really huge rock, like a boulder. It was really, really big boulder. But in the shadow of the Acropolis, in the shadow of the Parthenon, it seemed relatively small. And we asked our guide, what. What is that rock? And she said, it's something called the aeropagus. It's a combination of the Greek words for God of war and stone. It literally means the God of war's rock. And the equivalent to that in Roman, to the God Ares in Roman mythology is Mars. So by the time of Paul by of the early Christian church, this location was under Roman control. So it was called Mars Hill. Now, you may have heard that term before. That's where it came from. So that older Greek term, the aeropagus, that was still used in Mars Day, and it referred to a council that met there on this rock. There were seats that were at the top of this rock. And Paul gave his famous address on Mars Hill at the aeropagus in front of the aeropagus. But for the most part, it refers to the group of Athenian leaders and thinkers who met on the hill. And the purpose, purpose of this Athenian aeropagus was kind of like the Jewish Sanhedrin, from the best that I've been able to read. So both were these groups of very respected local men who were charged with talking about these spiritual or philosophical ideas that were coming into the city. And they had, So they were really considered conservative in the sense that they defended the status quo. And they were used a little bit like a court to settle disputes and to judge certain cases. And so unlike, the Sanhedrin, though, the Athenian Aeropagus was primarily interested in defending this concept of the Greek gods.
Paul's sermon in Athens challenged a world steeped in idolatry
And from a Christian perspective, I thought about Paul's sermon at the Aeropagus. Here is the Acropolis, here is the Parthenon, and it is huge. It was just crazy big and impressive. And here's Paul speaking at the seat of that power. That had to be one of just the most powerful moments, I think, in my opinion, in scripture, where the Gospel enters into direct conversation with the culture. It was bold, it was spirit led. It was engaging a world that was steeped in idolatry and searching for meaning. And as I traveled in other ancient places, that's what I saw was temples built to gods, statues built all over the place, the human heart longing to worship. And yet Paul stood here at the Aeropagus, the high court of Athens, where these ideas were debated, where worldviews were shaped. And he was surrounded by these statues, by these temples devoted to gods of all kinds. Yet rather than condemn his listeners outright, he started where they were. He said. He acknowledged that they had spiritual hunger. He said, I see that in every way, you are very religious. And he referenced one of their altars to an unknown God. But he used wisdom, he used humility, and he used courage. He was very courageous to use that cultural entry point to proclaim the truth of one true God, not multiple gods. And I saw that they had gods for everything. Gods for war, gods for fertility, gods for weather, gods for whatever it was. He said, there is one true God who does not live in temples, who is not formed by human hands, but the creator of all things, who gives life and breath and desires to be known. And he made it very clear that this God is not far from any of us. And he quoted their own poets to say, in him we live and move and have our being. Paul's message, honestly, was radically different from those philosophical debates that were common in Athens. It wasn't just intellectual, it was relational, and it was a message of redemption. And he revealed God had appointed a day of judgment. God had provided a savior, Jesus, who he raised from the dead. He and some of those people who listened there at the Areopagus, they mocked him. Some walked away, but some believed. And that is really the hope. And every time we share our faith that we know not everyone will accept the gospel. But the truth spoken in love always plants, seeds. And from a Christian lens, Paul's sermon is a reminder that the idols of this world, whether they're carved from marble or coded into apps like we have digital idols today, they can never satisfy that deep longing for truth and for purpose and redemption like Jesus can. But like Paul, we are called to stand in the center of culture, in the center of a broken, misguided world, not in fear, but in faith, offering the gospel to. As the answer to every searching heart. And as I stood there, I felt the weight of that history. This place that was once filled with statues of gads and the highest echelon of human earthly power and now draws people all over the world. They're not worshiping there, but they're wondering. And as a Christian, you might feel both the weight of the past and the hope of that gospel. And we know that our God cannot be confined to a structure, no matter how magnificent that structure is, because his temple isn't made of marble. His temple is made of the human body, of human hearts that are yielded to him. And even though you can't see the ruins that I'm describing, you feel the reverence they. They inspire. But I felt reverence for Paul's message of courage. That quiet, that the what he felt. Not the emptiness, really, of a city full of idols, but the possibility of transformation, of a hope that lives beyond the greatest glories that the earth can provide, and that truth spoken in love still echoes today. So I want to welcome you, friends. We are going to step into a, further conversation on this one that echoes from the Parthenon, from the Acropolis in ancient Athens, but really to the heart of our homes today. And In Acts, chapter 17, Paul stood in front of the Parthenon, and he boldly proclaimed that the one true God does not dwell in temples built by human hands.
Dr. Jessica Peck And we fast forward to today. Our idols might look different, but the worship is often the same. From smartphones to schedules, from achievement to affirmation. As modern families, we are surrounded by what I'm now seeing as digital temples that demand our time, that shape our worldview, and that are silently replacing the authority of God in our lives. But there is good news, because God, in his grace, always calls his people back. And today I'm going to talk to you, honestly, faithfully and practically, about what God has put on my heart and how families can recognize the idols that are all around us. We may not live in the shadow of the Parthenon, but we live in the shadow of a smartphone. So how do we recalibrate our lives? How do we rebuild our homes around the worship of the one true God? Because those eight idols of the ancient world, they were more than religious, just symbols. They were tools of culture, of control and identity. And we are going to look at how we can learn from those and how we can reshape our family's worldview. All this month, we're talking about 52 habits for healthy families. All this year, this month especially, we're talking about those habits related to technology. That's something that's invaded our lives, that dominates our lives more than any ancient structure ever will. Don't go away. I'll be right back. Giving you hope on how you can love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, your soul, and your mind. I'll see you on the other side of this break.
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Dr. Jessica Peck Welcome back, friends. That song is Abide by Aaron Williams and Dwell Songs. What a great message for us today. When we feel the pool of culture that is common constantly pulling our heart, our mind, our soul, our attention, our time, it is so important for us to abide in Christ, to abide there. We're talking today about how we love the Lord our God with all our heart, our soul and our mind, and how we resist modern idols. As I was sharing before the break, I was able to travel in the last month to some ancient parts of the world, including Athens. And. And when we look at those idols of the ancient world, they give us some powerful insight into some of the forces that are shaping modern families, our families today. So looking back in the ancient Mediterranean world, especially Greek and Roman societies, idols were physical representation of gods that were made up by men. And these were often placed in temples and homes and public squares and marketplaces. But they weren't just about private worship. They were, about political power and national identity. They used idol worship to unify people under a shared religion and culture. So for example, in Athens, the goddess Athena, she wasn't just a deity. It was a symbol of Athenian pride, of Athenian victory, of Athenian virtue. And in Rome, emperors declared themselves to be divine and they required people to worship Caesar as a God. And idolatry became a loyalty test to the empire. We. The same thing happened with Nebuchadnezzar, didn't we? And that modern parallels today, our loyalty is still tested through idol worship now, not through temple sacrifices, but conformity to cultural norms, through consumerism, through productivity, through success. And the idols of our day often reflect what does society demand that we are pledging our allegiance to? And it was interesting. There's also an island in Greece called Delos, and it was a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea is one of the considered to be one of the most sacred sites in the ancient world, but it wasn't. It was believed to be the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, twin gods of light and hunt. But it wasn't just a religious center. It was commerce, it was politics. And these sanctuaries and temples were grand. They had gold. They said, we are wealthy, we are successful. It became a major slave trading port where this sacred space and human exploitation coexisted. When you don't have truth that honors people, that honors God, then you don't honor people. And it was a place where they had festivals. And it shows how religion and economy and political agendas are really tangled up in each other. And idolatry often Hides in what is celebrated, what is normalized, what is profitable, what is successful. And so these idols were built to demonstrate strength of that culture, to demonstrate superiority of that culture. Our gods are greater than yours. So. And so are we. They wanted to maintain social control, to make sure that you were afraid of them, that you would comply with whatever was told to you to do. And if we honor the gods, they'll bless our crops, we'll be a wealthy image, we'll be a wealthy country. And they really wanted to elevate humanity's image because these gods often looked like idealized versions of humans, reflecting who people wished that they were. And looking back at the Parthenon, I mean, really, that was kind of the. The crux. And now it's still. It's still there, but it is rotting, it is crumbling. And when we look at that ancient Greek religion, it was polytheistic, like I said, they worshiped many gods and goddesses and worship often sacrifices and festivals and offering. And those temples and those gods were believed to dwell in those physical places. And that is really. Can you imagine then the apostle Paul visiting athens in the first century. And Scripture says in Acts 17, His Spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. And that sermon that he had talked about, this is a culture that's obsessed with beauty, that's obsessed with success. And we see those modern parallels. And this is going to be something maybe a little controversial, but I'm going to say it anyway. Sometimes we can treat our smartphone as a portable temple. It's always present, it always invites our attention. And if we're not careful in what we consume in our smartphones, because smartphones are an object, they're not inherently good or bad. But what we invite, through those smartphones, can really alter our worldview and can really redirect our hearts. Social media is an altar of affirmation that we can worship at if we're not careful. Getting that affirmation can be more important than anything else. We can treat productivity, we can treat perfectionism like false gods. We can use streaming or gaming or shopping as numbing agents, as coping mechanisms that we turn to before we turn to prayer, before we turn to scripture, before we turn to godly counsel. If we are doing those things, then in some ways, those can be idols. And in many way, idols. Today, they reflect our ideal self images, our curated social media Persona, or our curated social media feed how we look as an elevated, amplified version, an idealized version of what we want ourselves to be. It's a status symbol. We see personal success, even our children's achievements. We don't always worship gods as the ancient cultures did, but we do worship control. We worship beauty. We worship fame, we worship comfort. We, worship relevance. We worship all of these things. So this matters. These, looking at this culture, this of idol worship, we, it's very easy for us to say, oh well that's so foolish. We don't do that. But we do. And idols do shape our family's culture. So I, you have to think, what are your habits? What are your priorities? What are your conversations? Those reveal a lot about what you truly value. Because idols demand devotion. They demand sacrifice. Now in ancient times, people offered food or gold or even the lives of themselves, their loved ones, their children's or other people to appease the gods. But today we do make sacrifices at digital idols. I know, isn't this so convicting? I'm convicted. We sacrifice time with our family to spend time on our device. We sacrifice our emotional presence being distracted by all the screens around us. We sacrifice rest when we're scrolling way too late at night. We sacrifice our integrity on the altars of work, on the altars of success, on the altars of digital distraction. And those idols distort our identity and our worth. So in ancient times, they believe the gods gave them value. Well, don't we believe that today? Don't we believe those idols give us social approval, social status, financial security? We get achievement M. We get success. And we see that idols lead to spiritual blindness.
Jesus dismantled the power of those idols by offering a better way
Just like Paul saw in athens in Acts 17. A city full of idols is often full of confusion, of restlessness and spiritual hunger. And we see those things in our families today. We see when we have a house full of idols is filled with confusion, is filled with, with restlessness, discontent with spiritual hunger. Here's the good news. Jesus dismantled the power of those idols. He completely destroyed it. Not just by condemning them, but by offering a better way. He calls us to worship in spirit and in truth, not in temples made by human hands, but to worship in our hearts that are fully surrendered to him. So I want to encourage you today and challenge you even to resist cultural idolatry. That's so, so hard to do. And we can't do it by hiding from the world because we are in the world, but not of the world. But we can do it by living with intentional Christ centered clarity. And so ask yourselves, what are the forces that are shaping your family and how do we recenter those forces around God's word and around Worship of the Creator and not something that is created. We have to model for our kids, for our family, for our spouses. That Jesus is Lord, not success, not image, not comfort, not wealth. And before we would say. Before we say, oh well, we would never worship idols. We have to ask ourselves, what gets your best attention? What gets your affection and what gets your energy? So I'm going to give you 10 questions to help you discern some idols in your life, to help you think. Think, Are there idols in your life? Let me ask you these 10 questions as I ask them to myself and as you ask them to yourself too. Just have a moment of honesty here before the Lord. Here's Question number one. What do you think about most often? Where does your mind drift to when you have quiet moments? Where do your thoughts go when you need escape or comfort? What are you thinking about most often? Question number two. What are you relying on to feel secure? What makes you feel in control? Is it your savings account? Is it your job title? Is it your reputation? Is it your physical health? Is it your relationships? Is it your social status? What are you relying on to feel secure? Question number three. What if taken from you, would feel like your life is over? What are you most afraid of having taken from you? What do you fear losing the most? What would shake your sense of self or worth? Question number four. Where are you sacrificing? Where are you sacrificing your time, your energy, your money? What's receiving the best of you? What's receiving the best of your focus, your attention, your resources? Look at your calendar, look at your credit card statement. Where is your time, your energy, your money going? Number five. What are you most anxious or worried about? Because our worries point to where our treasures are. What do you feel like you have to protect at all cost? Is it a secret? Is it a status? Is it something that's physical here? Question number six. Whose approval matters most to you? Whose approval are you chasing? Whose affirmation are you craving? Do you desire to please God or please others? Question number seven. What do you turn to when you're stressed, when you're overwhelmed? When you're sad, when you're worried? Is it prayer? Is it scripture? Is it biblical counsel? Or is it entertainment? Is it treating yourself? Is it scrolling? Is it shopping? Is it something else? Number eight. What? What are you envying in others? What is something that someone else has that you wish that you had? Maybe you idolize something that they have? It's success, it's beauty, it's influence, it's Comfort, it's relationships that you don't have. Question number nine. What gives you a sense of identity? When people ask who you are, what, what do you tell them? Is it being a parent? Is it your professional? Is it being a good person? Is it being an achiever, being successful, being rich? Would you still know who you are if you didn't have that? And question number 10. Are you willing to sin to get something or to keep something? Would you lie? Would you manipulate? Would you compromise your integrity to hold on to that one thing in your life? Now, these are tough, tough questions.
Technology can be a modern day temple that can be used in wrong ways
And there are things in life that can be good. Success can be, good and used for the glory of God. And there are lots of things that we have. But if it is really competing for your attention and you're putting that above God's plan for you, that is a sign of concern. And what do you do if you're feeling that way? Well, you ask God to search your heart like David prayed in Psalm 139, Search me, O God, know my heart. See if there is any offensive way in me, lead me in the way everlasting. Because idols don't always look evil. They don't always even look obvious. A lot of times they're good things that we've just put in the wrong place in our life. So sometimes it's a good thing that's just in the wrong place. And the beauty of the gospel is God doesn't expose our idols just to shame us, to punish us. He does it to free us. And so I think as families, there are especially families living in America, there are a lot of idols that we can have. And one of those things, those objects that can be a good tool used in the wrong way is the smartphone that can be a modern idol that we're holding right in our hands every single day. There is power in this phone because you have an invisible tether to it. You check it first thing when you wake up. You look for it to charge before you go to sleep. It may dictate how you connect with other people, how you connect with the world, how you learn about the world, even how you view the world world. And it replaces spiritual disciplines, it replaces time that we spend with God by scrolling. And all of those things that we do on the phone and how our devices shape and our identity and our worldview. Sometimes we can let them dictate, our worldview more than even scripture does. And technology can be a modern day temple because like ancient temple smartphones, they impress us with their design with their innovation, with their influence, and they become the lens through which we're interpreting value and truth and beauty. And so here's a reflection question for you. What is forming you right now more. Is it God's word or is it your smartphone social media feed? Is it the information you're getting off your smartphone? That smartphone algorithm profoundly shapes our worldview, often without even realizing it. Because those algorithms are designed to learn our behavior and then feed us content that aligns with what we want, our preferences, our emotions and our desires, our goals. Well, it can be convenient, but it can also distort our perception of truth. So when we come back, we'll talk about how that algorithm shapes our worldview, and I'll also give you some practical strategies for families to recalibrate. If you have idols popping up in your house like we all fight with, I'll give you some help and hope when we come back.
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Can't Steal My Joy by Josiah Queen ft. Brandon Lake In the Valley of the shadow I got a feeling it's the season that'll make me grow I'm still breathing I got praise in my lungs and a choir in my soul can't steal my joy can't steal my, joy.
Dr. Jessica Peck Welcome back, friends. That song is Can't Steal My Joy by Josiah Queen featuring Brandon Lake. And, I hope that wherever you are today, whatever you're doing, as you're driving along the road, as you're delivering mail, as you're protecting the streets, if you're picking up kids from vacation Bible school, which we should all be praying for, vacation Bible schools that are going on all over the country. I hope that whatever is going on, whatever you're facing, that your joy can't be stolen, because we have a hope that doesn't disappoint. And I'm talking today about some of my recent travels in the last month. Being fortunate to go to the city of Athens, Greece, and seeing the Parthenon and the Acropolis and looking at that and really coming home feeling convicted about modern idols that we have because it's easy for Us to stand in the shadow of those temples and to feel like it was so foolish to worship a statue. But we worship a little tiny lighted blue square. If we're honest. If we think about how we prioritize, that smartphone, it can easily become an idol in our life and we can treat technology as a false temple. Now it is concerning to me the smartphone algorithm, especially in social media or newsfeed, because it is reshaping our worldview without us even thinking about it. Now before, when we would get a newspaper delivered to our house, that newspaper was what it was and it was read and we thought about it. But now, if you think about it, how algorithms work is you click on one story, it feeds you more stories like that, until all of a sudden you think this is the way that the world is.
Algorithms can shape our worldview, whether we're aware of it
So let me talk to you about some ways that the algorithm, the nameless kind of algorithm that seems fuzzy and scary to us at the same time, how it can shape our worldview. Now algorithms tend to show you more of what you already believe or what you already engage with. So over time you, this can create an echo chamber where any opposing views are filtered out. You're only exposed to one side of the issue. Now this is what's concerning for me, especially with young kids, because they can really believe anything they want to believe because the algorithm will automatically funnel them into an echo chamber that says to them, oh yes, this is right, this is the world, this is how it is. And you start to believe that your perspective is the only reasonable one, the only moral one, and others are just ignorant, dangerous or unworthy, worthy of attention. Well, that's not really a gospel centric view. The algorithm also promotes posts that are highly liked, that are curated, that are getting a lot of attention, a lot of shares, and that trains us to weigh the worth of someone's words or their platform by how many people like them, what they look like, how many people approve of them. And so we can develop anxiety even, or low self worth or a skewed sense of success based on what others post, because our posts don't get as much attention and we forget that's often a filtered highlight reel and whatever content content you engage with most. One of the things that concerns me about just really being passive, about getting your spiritual content just from social media is this kind of discipleship by default. And you let influencers on social media, it, just kind of decide how you're going to be discipled and you're discipled by content creators that you may or may not know. And if we're not careful about this, in curating that content ourselves, we realize that our beliefs and our habits and our values start to reflect those cultural trends more than biblical truth. And it shapes how we view our relationships, how we view our purpose, how we view God. Algorithms also are built to keep us engaged. And we can become addicted to instant gratification. It serves us content that gives us a quick dopamine hit. In fact, I was just at a conference last week where there was a very highly accomplished animator who spoke and talked about the power of storytelling. And he talked about how intentionally they use dopamine, serotonin, other feel good chemicals. They take you through a specific cascade of those because it makes you more connected physically, emotionally, mentally to the story, and it builds brand loyalty. That's pretty scary stuff if you think about manipulating how we're manipulating with storytelling those things. We all want a good story, but if we're not careful, if we're not intentional, those things are happening without us even being aware of it. We can. And if we're addicted to instant gratification, we can become more impatient, more distracted, less inclined to engage in conversations that are difficult. Say we're having some family disagreement or some intense family fellowship. As one of my past guests put it, you have no tolerance for those conversations that take a long time and that don't make you feel good. You're only looking for conversations that make you feel good. We also can idolize just numbing out if we're feeling overwhelmed or anxious. Well, don't worry. That algorithm is ready with a stream of distractions. And over time, we turn to our phone instead of facing those hard emotions or seeking God in all of that. And we miss opportunities for spiritual growth because we've learned to numb things out rather than to reflect. We've learned to react rather than to pray. One of the most serious things that can happen if we're not careful with our algorithm. And if we idolize our algorithm, it can redefine truth because that content is curated based on popularity, not on accuracy. And we've got opinion, we've got misinformation, we've got half truths that happen. And we start to think, well, truth is flexible. Truth is relative. Truth is emotional rather than truth is rooted in God's word. It also distorts what we value because if our feed is filled with luxury, with success, with beauty, with other people having perfect lives, we start to idolize that and we believe that's what matters. I would just be happy if I could have that. And sometimes even Christian content can do that because it, we don't want to water down the gospel. We gotta, we can't chase what looks good over what is good as designed by God.
Have scripture before screen time to reclaim time that technology is stealing
So when you so how to resist algorithm discipleship? Well, you start your day in the work before you encounter the world. Have scripture before screen time. Open your day with God's word, with prioritizing God. I believe, I really do believe that God honors those little motions of discipline, those little motions of obedience that we have. And if we open our Bibles every day and say God speak to me, that I believe that God will bless that. And research backs that up. Research shows that people who engage with scripture four days a week or more are much more likely to be happier, to be more content, to be. They're less likely to engage in risk taking behaviors. Start your day in the Word before you face the world and then audit your feed. Ask as something's coming across. Say, is this forming me more into Christ's image? Is this edifying? Is it uplifting? Is it noble? Is it praiseworthy? Think about all of those things and if not not, don't engage with it. Curate your feed to make you more like Christ. And we are talking all this month about some tech habits, using screen time limits, using fasting, whatever it is. Tech free zone, tech free time. We'll be talking all about those on Friday, so pay attention to Friday shows because we'll talk about some of those practical things that we can do and follow voices of truth, not just trends. Don't follow who's popular, who seems to be, be the most popular. Ask God to give you discernment, to listen to those voices of truth. And I think it's so important for us to regularly unplug from the algorithm to reset our heart, to reset our perspective, to disconnect from that dopamine rush that happens and to invest in people. Recently I had a guest on who was talking about some of the research that's coming out, talking about how much time we engage in social media, how much time we engage in our phone. And she said something that has stuck with me, thinking that this generation will die with more memories of other people's lives than their own. That's pretty convicting. God designs our, God designed our hearts to be shaped by the Holy Spirit, not to be swayed by algorithms. So we have to ask him to guard our minds, to recalibrate our attention. And Romans 12 really says it best. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be Transformed by the renewing of your mind. So what are some practical strategies for families to recalibrate? You're thinking. Okay, all right, I get what you're saying here. What do we do about it? Well, the first thing that we need to do is reclaim our time. I'm convinced that technology is the thief of time. And we need to reclaim our time to have daily rhythms of scripture, of prayer, of worship, music, of, silence, even. Even if that just starts in two to three minute bursts over time, that really builds up. So go back and listen to the doctor, nurse, mama coaching minutes. Ever since January, every week on the Friday show, we've introduced a new habit that will help you with some of those daily rhythms. It's so important to have family Sabbath, to have tech free hours, whether that's tech free Tuesday, as we have occasionally here in my house, we have a sacred Sunday. Whatever it is, we need to start our day with scripture before screen and just reclaim some of that, those daily rhythms that we have and reclaim some of the time that technology is stealing from us. Once we reclaim that time, we need to use that time to reorder our affections. We need to teach them that worship is a daily act. It's not just something we do on Sunday. Worship is something that we do every single day. Every moment we're awake, we are thinking about how can we honor God with our lives? And that can come through media discernment. Why do we love this show? Why does it lead us to value? Why is this habit forming for me? Is this building me up? I think about the verse in Ephesians. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful. Building others up according to their needs. And the media that we consume needs to build us up as well. And then we need to rebuild our own house as a temple, our own home, our own hearts as a place of worship. And that can be, that can be hard to do, but we can do it. Because in this day and age when we have such cultural pool, we've got to lead our families away from idols, and we've got to point them toward the identity that they have in Christ. Your worth is not in your followers, in your grades, in your sports medals and your number of likes. It is in being deeply known and loved, loved by God. And one of the best ways we can do this is replace shame with invitation. So instead of just being the phone police, instead of being, you know, the, the voice of truth that's constantly preaching, we can coach Instead, we can invite. Instead, we can provide a, compelling alternative. Instead of saying, you're spending too much time on your phone, say, hey, I'm spending too much time on my phone. We are spending too much time on our phones. Let's grow together. Let's edify each other in this. Can we create a culture in our family where we can hold each other accountable? Respect, respectfully. That can be really, really important because Scripture is clear about our command to do this. Exodus 20:3 says, you shall have no other gods before me. Romans 12:2, As I just read, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And Matthew 6:21 tells, Us, where your treasure is, is there your heart will be also. So I encourage you to have a conversation with your families and maybe do a modern idol inventory. Think, what has our family's heart, what has our time, what has our attention, what has our affection, what has our worship, even if we didn't recognize it until now because we can think about worshiping in the idols of technology and media. Are we reaching for our phone before we're reaching for God?
Dr. Jessica Peck Are.
Dr. Jessica Peck Ah, we do. We feel anxious when we don't have access to our device or we can't check our notifications, or how often are you reading scripture compared to social media or the news?
Sometimes we can idolize success and productivity in our homes
And are you shaping your opinions more from influencers, from news headlines, or from the word of God? So sometimes those possible idols could be entertainment or control or distraction or influence or instant gratification. Sometimes we can idolize success and productivity in our homes. If we measure our worth by our accomplishments, if we are struggling to rest, if we feel guilty when we're not doing something, we have the Martha syndrome. If we're over scheduling our family to prove something, maybe to other people or maybe just to ourselves, we can idolize work or achievement or busyness or perfectionism. Sometimes we idolize image and identity. We compare ourselves with others on social media or in real life. We obsess over how we look, how our house looks, how our kids look, how are their behavior looks. We are idolizing pride and approval and reputation and beauty. Sometimes we can idolize a good thing that's our family. But we rely on our spouse, our kids, our friends to meet needs only God can fill. Or we fear disappointing people more than we fear disobeying God. Or we elevate our role as a parent, a spouse, a leader to define our worth. We are idolizing family and children and affirmation and control in relationships or we're idolizing security or comfort over anything or other people's opinions. What do we do? Well, name it. Idols lose their power when we bring them into the light. And we can repent not with shame, but with open hearts, with open hands. Because it is God's kindness that leads us to repentance. And we can re center our homes and our hearts. Ask God to take his rightful place again and worship and serve and orient your daily rhythms around God and replace those idols. Don't just remove them. Replace them with truth. Replace them with habits. We're helping you do that here with 52 habits for healthy families. And the human heart is made for worship. It's woven into our very being. But because of our brokenness, we settle for lesser things. And those idols in our world may be small enough to fit in our pockets, but the invitation of God is way bigger than that. And he's still calling you. Not to shame, but to truth and love and life. And that's where hope begins again. And we'll begin it again here tomorrow. See you then.
Jeff Chamblee The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
Jessica talks about modern day idols that sneak into our daily lives
Rx for Hope: Love the Lord Your God with All Your Heart, Soul, and Mind
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