OH NO, God is asking me to surrender my Phone

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

My only 2026 resolution: submit and surrender my life to God. And what’s the first thing He asks of me? Surrender your phone. Seriously? Couldn’t He have asked me to surrender exercising? Of course not because He knows that I don’t like to exercise, so that would have been too easy. God doesn’t realize that this is the twenty-first century, and I cannot live without my phone. The phone has become my photo camera, my calendar, my address book, my alarm clock… in other words, my everything.

The funny thing about God is that He sneaks upon you. I didn’t hear a booming voice from heaven saying: “You must surrender your phone.” No, it was not that obvious. It started with subtle hints towards the end of 2025. I was in New York, and my husband was watching CNBC’s Squawk Box. They were interviewing a gentleman by the name of Arthur Brooks, and the conversation caught my attention. They were talking about what it means to be happy, about gratitude, and about religion. Yes, religion. Not what we usually hear on the news these days, so I listened. He was saying that “the more time that we are glued to our devices using technology,” the less time we spend “living in real relationships.” His words resonated with me, so after that day, I began to listen to his podcasts: “Office Hours with Arthur Brooks.”

One of the first podcasts I listened to was titled: “A 5-Step Approach to Ending Your Phone Addiction.” The five steps that Arthur Brooks suggests are as follows:

1. Tech-free times: No phones during the first hour of the day, the last hour, and at meal times.
2. Tech-free zones: He recommends not having your phone in the bedroom, especially at night.
3. Device-free breaks each year: He goes to a silent retreat once a year for four days. No phones.
4. Mindful consumption: Set aside specific times to look at the phone and spend no more than 30 to 45 minutes on social media.
5. Turn off your notifications.

It made a lot of sense, but it was not for me because after all, I was not addicted to my phone. I should have been suspicious when I kept getting messages “on my phone” about how much time I was spending on this little device on a daily basis. This completely shocked me. I was spending an average of eight hours per day. That’s half the time I’m awake. And yet, I excused myself. Of course I spend eight hours on my phone. My whole life is organized inside my phone.

Once 2026 rolled around, and I began to think about what I needed to surrender, the thing that kept popping in my head was: “You must surrender your phone.” I considered turning off this inner voice, but I have learned that if the voice is coming from God, He will continue nagging me, like I do to my husband until he listens. Therefore, I decided to compromise. I knew that God was not asking me to throw my phone away. Surrendering meant the addiction, not the phone. And yes, I finally admitted that being glued to the phone eight hours a day was an addiction. I had allowed the phone to control me, and thus, I had to take that control back.

These are the steps I have taken since the start of this year, with the help of Arthur Brooks’ recommendations:

1. The first thing I used to do when I woke up was grab my phone. Now, instead of my phone, I grab my rosary. I look at my phone for the first time after I pray the rosary, do my stretches, and go for my morning walk.
2. During the last hour before bedtime, instead of looking at my phone, I journal, I read, and I talk to my husband.
3. During meal times, the phone stays off the table.
4. I set specific times to check my phone. During these phone times, which I try to keep to no more than three to four times a day and for just a few minutes, I check my messages, emails, and reply to those I must. There’s only one exception. If I receive pictures or videos of my grandsons, I must look at them right away. Only grandparents will understand this.
5. I am staying off social media as much as possible. I may take a look at it once in a while, but I use it mostly to post my writings or to share uplifting messages. I don’t look at reels, and I don’t spend hours looking at posts like I used to.
6. And last but not least, I have turned off all notifications. Those little numbers that would tell me that I had received 43 text messages used to drive me insane.

There are two recommendations that I have not implemented. The first one is keeping the phone out of my bedroom. I don’t have a phone landline anymore, and I’m always afraid that I may get an emergency phone call during the night. The second one is the device-free break. I have gone to silent retreats in the past, and it truly is a blessing. It may be time to get away for a few days without a phone to really reconnect with myself and with God.

Now that I have been disattached from my phone for over a month, I must thank God for asking me to surrender it. I am sleeping better. I am spending my time more productively doing other things that are healthier for my brain. And I am certainly not missing out on anything; on the contrary, I am more present and focused on what truly matters. So if you also feel that you are too addicted to your phone, Lent is a great time to get rid of that addiction. I promise you that when Easter comes around, you will feel much happier and much more relaxed because your phone will not be in control of your life. You will be the one in charge, and after all, that is what God wants for us. He should be our only addiction, and anything else that takes His place, He is going to ask us to surrender it. The last thing I imagined that He would ask of me was to surrender my phone, but I have learned that the best things in life often come from the unexpected.

Copyright © 2026 Christy Romero. All rights reserved. If you thought of someone while reading this, bless them by sharing it with them.