The Time Thief

Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is (Eph. 15:17).

Life is short. A lot shorter for some than for others. Whatever precious time we’re given, well, that’s all we get and it ain’t comin’ back. So Satan targets it, steals it daily and, far too often, we let him. God says our time matters. We say time matters—yet it slips through our careless fingers, especially online. Each day we encounter forces made to chip away at our time, energy, and focus—until our willpower gives out and we relinquish ourselves.

He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls (Pro. 25:28).

Social media platforms are built by “attention engineers”—people paid to reduce self-awareness, to distract us from ourselves so we act on impulse instead of intention. Their goal is simple: capture attention, weaken resistance, bypass reflection, and promote passive compliance.

Sean Parker, Facebook’s founding president, said:

“The thought process that went into building these applications… was all about: ‘How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?’”

By the way, Parker doesn’t use social media himself, saying it’s “too much of a time sink.” Go figure.

When we allow them to achieve their goal, we become listless husks—chained to trivialities wherein there is no satisfaction or purpose, no rule over self—a city without walls.

“I have finally come to the conclusion that brains—or something else that is good to think with—are excellent to have, but you want to keep your eye on them, and not let them fool away their time, nor yours neither.” —Josh Billings

There’s more at stake than time management—this is war. When Satan can’t trap you in overt, scandalous sin, he’ll settle for numbing your mind, scattering your focus, and keeping you too distracted to think, pray, or obey—that is to say, he makes you an idolator. So the concern is both how much time we’re throwing away, and who we’re becoming while wasting it. Like ancient idolators who lost all discernment, self-awareness, and objectivity, social media addicts follow the same path: “He feeds on ashes. His deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, ‘Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?’” (Is. 44:20). I’m not saying all social media use is sin, but all use is dangerous without vigilance: “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Cor. 6:12). That’s the rub, not panic, but sober reflection and spiritual discernment of our usage.

Mindfulness is an overlooked command:

“For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober” (1 Thess. 5:5-6).

“The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” (Rom. 13:11).

“Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:8).

The battle for your time is really a battle for your attention—and whoever controls your attention shapes your life. Every moment you give to distraction is a moment you didn’t give to God, to His Word, to prayer, to your family, to the work He’s called you to do. Let me reiterate, this is not a blanket condemnation of social media use but a call to honest evaluate our current usage and habits. If you’re going to “gird up the loins of your mind” (1 Pet. 1:13), refuse to let it sag and sprawl across every trivial scroll, thoughtless swipe, or push, then we need to “be sober, be vigilant” (1 Pet. 5:8)—not numb, passive, and mentally absent.

Satan wants you foggy, floating, and forgetful because an inattentive, forgetful Christian is an ineffective one (2 Pet. 1:8-9).

And the danger isn’t just from what you see—but from what social media is slowly doing to your brain. Attention engineers, like modern-day magicians, have hijacked your habits. They know how to trigger dopamine, lure you with likes, and train your mind to seek short bursts of shallow engagement. It’s not an accident that you keep checking your phone—it’s a design. The algorithm is built to feed your flesh and choke your spirit.

You may tell yourself you’re still in control. That you’re just winding down, passing time, keeping up with friends. But try recalling what you scrolled past yesterday. You can’t. And that’s the point. These platforms not only steal your attention in the moment, they erase your memory of it afterward. This is one of the nastiest tricks of social media: It’s a maze of disjointed fragments and, since each post is unrelated to the last and to the next, your mind can’t link them into a meaningful way. If it can’t organize the information, it won’t store it. Instead of clear experiences, it creates a foggy blur. You were present, but not aware. You were active, but not engaged. You scroll for 30 minutes, but afterward you can't remember anything you saw—it’s attention and retention theft, and we let it happen.

Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible, but not everything is edifying (1 Cor. 10:23).

Social media’s design isn’t random—it’s rigged. A lot of folks don’t realize that the same psychological tricks used in casino floor plans to disorient gamblers are implemented in your favorite apps. Curving, infinite-scroll layouts. Hidden pathways. Confusing exit points. It’s all designed to keep you scrolling, dull your senses, and hijack your will. That’s not hyperbole—it’s strategy. And it’s the opposite of how God calls His people to live: “Walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise” (Eph. 5:15). That means on guard. Alert. Not stumbling half-awake through life like a man who’s just rolled out of bed.

You become foggy. Fragmented. You lose time—and worse, you lose awareness of time. And when you can’t track time, you can’t steward it: “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Ps. 90:12).

There’s so much meaningless noise in our media diet that we get spiritually numb. It’s not just the inflammatory or immoral stuff—it’s the sheer amount of randomness that wears you down. Your brain can’t link it together. So it doesn’t store it. You forget it. And here's the danger: when forgetfulness becomes a habit, it doesn’t stay confined to your phone.

It leaks into your faith.

James warns us about being “hearers of the word and not doers… like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror… and forgets what he looks like” (Jas. 1:23–24). A forgetful heart is a disobedient one. If you spend most of your time in mental autopilot—chasing fragments, scrolling past images you’ll never recall—don’t be surprised if you struggle to retain and apply what you read in the Bible. Social media isn’t just numbing your wits—it’s training you to forget.

We can’t afford to live on autopilot—especially not when the world is wired to encourage it. Paul doesn’t tell Christians to cruise through life and hope for the best. He says: “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (Col. 3:2). Set it. Like a flint. Like a compass. You don't just react to what’s in front of you—you fix your thoughts on what matters. If Satan’s strategy is distraction, our response must be attention. If his weapons are noise, numbness, and forgetfulness, our defense must be deliberate, disciplined thinking. That’s how you “gird up the loins of your mind” (1 Pet. 1:13).

Rather than be a passive observer, letting time slip by you each day—redeem it. “Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established” (Pro. 4:26). That means you stop. You assess. You ask hard questions. That little habit of reflexively opening your phone every time you’re bored? That’s a path. Is it leading anywhere? Or is it just eating your days alive?

Reclaiming your mind means forming new habits. “Consider what I say,” Paul told Timothy, “for the Lord will give you understanding in everything” (2 Tim. 2:7). The one who delights in God’s law meditates on it “day and night” (Ps. 1:2), not in ten-second clips between notifications. A brain trained to skim and forget won’t suddenly switch into deep thinking and spiritual discernment just because you open your Bible. Garbage in, garbage out. If you want to reclaim your mind and steward your days, you’re going to have to fight for it. But you’re not fighting alone. Redeem what time you have left. “Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5). “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him…” (Ps. 145:18).