Are you the star of a story called “My Technological Romance?”

In other words, do you #love your gadget? The whole world has fallen in love with techno-gadgetry! We love surfing, following, liking, linking, sharing, commenting, chatting, posting, messaging, scrolling, responding, pinning, getting notifications, sharing six-second stories and answering, “What’s on your mind?” But is our #love distracting us from #moreimportantthings?
Technology is not evil. Gadgets are no more responsible for society’s ills than chocolate is responsible for obesity. They’re just tools for connecting with people, getting information and being entertained. Technology — like many things — presents us with a choice: Will we manage it or be managed by it? control or be controlled? Will we prioritize or neglect the most important things in life?
Perhaps your question is: What are the most important things in life? Before you Google it, consider what God-Jesus rehearsed about your love life.

#LOVEGOD

The religious leaders of Jesus’ time counted up the hundreds of laws God had given them, then added to them extensively with man-made rules and regulations. Most people had no way of keeping track of it all. One day, a man asked Jesus, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” (Mark 12:29–31, NLT)

What is really important? Love! Love for God. Love for people. That’s a summary of your Love-Life!
Love for God makes the best sense for a perfect love-life. Our Creator gives us air to breathe, water to drink and food to eat. He gives us hearts, souls, minds and strength — it makes sense that we would use them to seek and love God.
But, we can also choose not to. We can have a “technological romance” with Minecraft, Pinterest or Netflix. Just about anything can romance us away from our Creator — jobs, a favorite sports team, even our favorite people can be too important to us — they can become our gods. But, love is a choice, not a feeling. We must choose to love God by giving Him His first place in our lives. Loving God energizes us to rightly love others.

#LOVEPEOPLE

But that’s not all. Jesus said, “The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” How much should you love the people all around you? As much as you love yourself. Notice that Jesus didn’t command that we love ourselves — He knows we naturally love ourselves more than anyone else on the planet.
Think about all the time and energy we spend on the pursuit of happiness. Our obsession with wanting to be happy proves we love ourselves. Jesus said the “second…equally, most important” command from God is to love your neighbor like that — to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
They go together — love for God and love for people. If you love God, you will love what He loves, and He loves people. Jesus said, “God so loved the world (i.e., people) that He gave His one and only Son”.

#LOVESTEPS

If you do have a “technological romance,” or some other romance keeping you from the most important things in life, what should you do about it? Here are three steps you can take.
Step outside at night. Take a look at the stars and have a talk with God. Let His amazing and vast creation remind you that no problem is too big for Him if you invite Him into it. Tell Him about your struggles and ask for His help.
Step away from your “romance” — whether it’s a gadget or a TV series or a dessert. Maybe just a few hours. Maybe a day or seven. Take a break from it. Ask God to clear your mind during this break and show you how you need to change, what you need to stop, who you’ve been neglecting, where you need to start. Search the Bible — God’s communication with us — to help you find answers. If you don’t have one, let us know or look online. There are a number of good options for you to read and study.
Step up to the most important things: Love for God and neighbor. Remember, love is a choice, so step up and choose to love “God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” When you love God like that, your love for your neighbor will grow.

Start a new chapter — a whole new story. Call it “My Divine Romance.”