Rule of Life: Mind

Part 3 | Return to Developing a Rule of Life

What we give our attention to is the person we become. Through what scientists call neuroplasticity and Paul calls “the renewal of the mind” (Romans 12:2), we have a say in the kind of thought life we wire into our brain, and as a result, the kind of people we are being formed into — whether it’s formation through the truth of God, or deformation through social media, news feeds, and entertainment queues. 

Daily examples

One hour with phone off | We were made for presence, but so often our phones are the cause of our absence. To be two places at a time is to be no place at all. Turning off our phones for an hour a day is a way to turn our gaze up to each other. Our habits of attention are habits of love. To resist absence is to love your neighbor.

Scripture before phone | Refusing to check the phone until after reading a passage of Scripture is a way of replacing the question “what do I need to do today?” with a better one: “who am I, and who am I becoming?” We have no stable identity outside of Jesus. Daily immersion in Scripture resists the anxiety of emails, the anger of the news, and the envy of social media. Instead, it forms us daily in our true identity as children of the King, dearly loved.

Pick up a book instead of your phone | When you have the urge to pick up your phone to scroll, always have a book nearby to pick up instead.

Regular Podcasts | Listen to things that will be life-giving and point you closer to Jesus.

Limit daily use on device | Put screen time limits on the apps you use most frequently (30 minutes a day, etc).

Weekly examples

Curate media to 4 hours | Stories matter so much that we must handle them with utmost care.  Resisting the constant stream of addictive media with an hour limit means we are forced to curate what we watch.  Curating stories means that we seek stories that uphold beauty, that teach us to love justice, and that turn us towards community.

Sabbath Digital Fasting | We constantly seek to fill our emptiness with their comforts. We ignore our soul and our neighbor’s needs by medicating with media. Fasting exposes who we really are, reminds us how broken the world is, and draws our eyes to how Jesus is redeeming all things.


Recommended baseline practice | Commit to disengage from screens on a daily, weekly, and annual basis; set a time limit on your use of entertainment, and an established expectation of moral quality in what you take in. Commit also to the regular intake of truth and teaching through your medium of choice — reading, podcasting, Bible study, etc. and the daily habit of gratitude and hope.
If you’re new to this practice, we recommend you begin your day by reading the New Testament, before turning on your phone, even if only for a few minutes a day

Reflection Questions

  • How are you curating your thought life to take on “the mind of Christ” (Philippians 2:5-8)? 

  • How are you carefully guarding your mind’s time on and input from digital devices to keep it healthy, free of temptation and distraction, and set on God’s loving, joyful companionship through your days and weeks?

  • What practices make up your current rule of life (official or unofficial)? What practices would you like to add in, cut out, or change?

Fill out the chart below with your small, actionable goals for this upcoming month.

Goal Be with Jesus
Practice Mind
Daily                                                                        
Weekly