Unplug

This past week (from Wednesday, February 28th-Wednesday, March 7th), my Evangelism 101 class was challenged to unplug. We were to resist the urge to pull out our phone in the presence of other people for a week. If we were capable of doing it, we got 25 extra credit points. I thought it would be easy and extra credit is always something to take advantage of, so I committed and the outcome truly shocked me.

The whole point of the challenge was that everywhere we go, people are struggling with something and if we don’t plug in and pay attention to those around us, we will never have the opportunity to help them or even notice their struggle. Most days when I go to class I sit on my phone and scroll through social media before class starts. I’m not an introvert by any means but it’s what everyone else does and it’s mindless. When I walk to class, if I’m walking alone, I use my phone to escape conversations and awkward eye contact with people I don’t know. In our culture we have been taught that starting conversations with people we don’t know is awkward and weird.

This week I have learned that these “awkward situations” are really just opportunities to make other people feel cared for and loved, even if you only see them in passing once. My family will be the first to tell you that I don’t go out of my way to talk to strangers but I’m quick to make friends once the ice is broken. Thus, this week truly was a challenge for me in every aspect of the word. However, I was determined to do it. By using my phone less and engaging with the people in my presence more, I was able to understand the people who sit right next to me in class better, and even have meaningful discussions with my roommates and friends.

One of our assignments in Evangelism is that we have to evangelize to someone who doesn’t know the Lord. Most people’s first excuse is that they don’t know anyone who doesn’t know the Lord because they’re looking on the largest Christian university’s campus! In order to find the people we are trying to reach, we have to be intentional about it. Every class period our professor emphasizes the importance of being intentional. We will never be successful in this without it being driven by our own intention. We will never know these people if we are constantly plugged into our phones, waiting to find out which Kardashian is pregnant and what the baby’s name will be. Come on now, we can do better than that. I can do better than that.

The first people I had the pleasure of talking with were the people I sit with in Evangelism (we have assigned seats so we can get to know new people). Through this experience I have gotten the pleasure of knowing them and they are honestly some of the most unique people I have ever met! They are genuine and caring and seriously the sweetest. They ask how they can pray for me and they are always eager to see me every Wednesday and Friday and catch up on how our weeks were. I am so thankful for assigned seats because I have so many new friends because of it!

If you’re familiar with Liberty University, you know there’s never a day without construction. Currently, there are landscapers planting trees around our newly finished Freedom Tower. The tower is right behind my dorm so I see these workers several times a day and have never spoken to them once. The other day I went out of my comfort zone and when we made eye contact I just smiled and said “good morning!!” and now whenever I see them we exchange a “how’s your day” or a “hey!” in passing. They recognize me because I took one second of my day to make them feel cared about. A simple “good morning” was all it took to make them a little happier and seeing that is definitely worth it!

I’m going to challenge all of you, if you know you’re one of those people who are always on their phones, to the same challenge I just completed. I promise it will open your eyes and you’ll never go back to being glued to your phone. It is definitely worth your time and you’ll see the positive results immediately. I am so glad I chose to challenge myself and step out of my comfort zone! You will meet some really awesome people, you’ll learn about people’s struggles you were ignorant to before, and you might even lead someone to Christ in the process! So, go be intentional and love on other people and show them that they are worth more than whatever you’re looking at on your phone.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35 ESV)