Marine Corps Base Quantico -- If you are like me, then you have attended a meeting either on a mandatory or voluntary basis. So there I was, attending yet another meeting, and as I entered the room, I received a message on my cell phone. I take out my phone and proceed to see what the message is about and who sent it. Once done, I placed the phone back in my pocket. That is when I realized something. I saw most of the people in the room active on their cell phones. No one was interacting with each other. I had seen this many times before, even in my own home, but it has never really gained my attention as much as now. Then I remembered something I had read several months before. The question was posed, “Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?”

This question was intriguing enough, but it was also followed by questions that seem to deepen my personal reflection. These questions made me think of where my priorities were and how more important things have become than people. Here is the list of questions that followed. I ask you to reflect as I have.

“What if we carried the Bible around in our purses or pockets?” I’m guilty of almost always grabbing my cell phone when I leave the house while my Bibles sit at home on the shelves and in the bookcases (unless attending church or bible study).

“What if we flipped through the Bible several times a day?” How many times do you pull out your cell phone and look through it for information on a given topic or contact for someone you know? Now think of how much more Scripture you would know and be able to share when necessary if you looked through your Bible as often as you look through your cell phone.

“What if we turned back to go get the Bible if we forgot it?” Leaving home without one’s cell phone will cause many people to turn around and go back and get it. Not only don’t we turn around to go back and get our Bible, but we generally don’t take it with us on a regular basis to begin with. What does that say about our priorities? Which is really more important to us, our Bible or our cell phone?

“What if we used the Bible to receive messages from the text?” When you read your Bible, do you just read it or do you hunger for the meat of what you read?

“What if we treated the Bible like we couldn’t live without it?” If someone misplaces their cell phone or it breaks, they panic and freak out until they find it or replace it. Every time there is an upgrade or new model released, thousands line up to be one of the first to get the new version. They spend hundreds to thousands of dollars constantly upgrading their phones and purchasing apps. Yet, the Bible never changes, never upgrades and although new versions are always coming out, few of them are as good as our old standard versions.

”What if we gave the Bible to kids as gifts?”, “What if we used it when we traveled?” and “What if we used it in case of emergency?” Who or what do you turn to in a time of crisis?

And finally: “Unlike our cell phone, we don’t have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.” No dropped calls.

So, what are your priorities? Just think of the difference in your life and the lives of those you meet if you treated your Bible the same way you treat your cell phone.

So, here is a challenge: While we may say that we “are not able to” carry our Bible with us wherever we go, what about just at home? How about this: each time you reach for, check, or use your cell phone while you’re at home, take a moment to read a few verses and say a small prayer. If you are adventurous, do it wherever you are throughout the day and see how things change.