I’ve noticed something recently that I believe is cause for concern.  In fact, I’ve found myself caught in the thick of what I’m about to describe without paying attention to the dangers associated with it.

Maybe I’m late to the game, but I’ve noticed the obsession, sometimes bordering on addiction, that people have with social media.  Everything from Facebook, to Twitter, to blogs seem to dominate our time and attention.

I’m not saying any of these are wrong.  In fact, I utilize all of the things I just mentioned, and I believe they are great tools for connecting with and encouraging people.  However, when they replace, or even reduce, the time we would normally spend with God, they become idols.

In the past, I’ve found myself looking forward to reading the blogs of my favorite church leaders, or listening to the podcasts of their sermons or leadership talks, more than I looked forward to spending time with God through prayer and reading his Word.  That’s a dangerous place to be.

God’s Word is the only source of truth and wisdom that is alive and has the power to change lives!  I truly believe God has raised up some incredibly anointed leaders who have been used by him to accomplish amazing things for God’s kingdom.  But many times the issue isn’t with them, but rather, with who we make them out to be.

What if we began to hang on every word we read in Scripture like we often do with every tweet our mentors in ministry send out?  What if we spent as much time and energy getting near to God as we do trying to get near to those we admire through @Replies and ReTweets?

I think about the fact that Job treasured God’s words more than the food he ate.  The prophet Jeremiah said that when he discovered God’s words, he devoured them.  They were the source of his heart’s joy.  In order to treasure God’s words, we have to know them, and in order to know them, we have to spend time discovering them.

Imagine what our lives would look like if we took Job and Jeremiah’s approach to time with God.  I’m not suggesting we should give up social media, but maybe this is a good opportunity for us to re-evaluate our priorities to determine if they’ve gotten out of whack.