I have a funny hobby. I like to scroll Facebook Marketplace and just look around. The modern “window shopping,” I suppose. But I have a penchant for looking at strange or odd things for sale for a laugh.

For instance, recently, I’ve seen two different pairs of crocheted shorts. Two different pairs! They looked like lumpy and ineffective underpants. I’m sure they were a labor of…maybe not love, but a labor nonetheless.

The annoying thing about “the algorithm” is that once you click on something, the more it appears. Hence why a second pair of this monstrosity appeared on my page. This both works for and against us. Mostly against, if we are honest. 

Social media is no longer a neutral force in the world. It is a money-making giant that exists to make money. So when the various companies create their algorithm patterns, it is all for the goal of making us scroll more, so that they make more money.

These companies create a predetermined path for us, and our little screens are like carts on those rails.

But spiritual practices sort of work the opposite way. 

Instead of creating a rail that we are stuck on, spiritual practices are a means of getting off that track altogether. In a very real way, social media is vying for the most impact and influence on our lives. And in a very real way, spiritual disciplines are there to make us aware of what we actually give authority in our lives

In fasting, we aren’t just starving ourselves or dieting. We pause our consumption of something to make us actually aware of our needs, most especially our need for God. When is the last time we actually thought about what we need instead of just grabbing what we want?

In prayer, we both speak and listen. We practice opening ourselves up to God’s presence and paying attention to God’s voice instead of just our own.

In worship and service, we are brought into situations where we aren’t the center of our own attention. Where we are directed back to God and God’s other beloveds.

I wonder what would happen if we spent half as much time as we do doom-scrolling or obsessing over the news on spiritual practices. I wonder how God could show up in our lives if we actually started practicing paying attention to how God already is.

– Pastor Megan