CREEDE HINSHAW: The ‘faith’ of modern technology

This column is not a meditation about going cold turkey on one’s smartphone. Although some may need to quit their phone time altogether, each of us must evaluate whether one is indulging into too much phone usage

Although only a few of my apps are what I’d classify as “religious, these apps are some of the most helpful.

I added my 118th app early this January and will be interested to see if it can improve my spiritual health. The app is called “Three Good Things.” Every evening at 9 p.m., my app reminds me to record three good things that happened to me during the day and to describe the emotions associated with that event. An uncredited citation on the app says, “Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.”

Being the cheapskate I am, I downloaded the free version of the app, which seems to do everything I want. The fully loaded app is available for a one-time fee for $11.99 which offers a few additional features, but I’m happy with the basic model.

One thing I have discovered after using this app for a couple of weeks is that I am more alert, more aware of the events of the day. Some of them are quite insignificant, but now that I know I will be making a record, I am more attuned to what brings me joy or happiness. Yesterday was not a day filled with dazzling happiness, but the app allowed me to reflect on things that brought sunshine into an otherwise unexceptional day.

This app is not an overtly “religious” app. Persons of any faith or no faith could use it, but for one who lives in the Christian tradition, I find that this small tool has helped me become more aware of the goodness, the loving kindness and the creation of God.

I also have other specifically religious apps on my phone. I’ve written in the past about my Bible app. Although I prefer reading from a “real Bible” at the house, when I travel, I always use the app. The Book of Common Prayer app I use the same way, preferring to read from the “real” book each morning for my daily devotional time, but travelling with the app.

Although I am not currently using it, I have found the app called “Five Psalms” quite helpful over the years. This app does only one thing (Praise God for simplicity!): daily it calls up five psalms. By the end of a month, the user has read the entire book of Psalms and can start afresh.

There are, of course, apps for almost everything. I have a friend who has an app that reminds him 3-5 times a day that he will one day die. True though this is, the app is too morbid for me. Furthermore, this friend drives past a cemetery every time he enters or exits his neighborhood. Who needs a death-reminding app when one lives by a graveyard?