In our modern culture, nearly everyone we meet has a phone in their pocket and/or a computer in their home (and likely more digital devices than that). Anyone reading this will be reading it on a screen. Anymore, this is simply the easiest and quickest way to access information and see the content we are interested in.
The problem with this comes when we are not mindful of how we are using these devices. As author Jeff Mingee stated in the book, Digital Dominion, “when it comes to our digital devices, we are tempted to forego mindful dominion and instead enter in with mindless consumption. So, who is controlling who?” (Digital Dominion: Five Questions Christians Should Ask to Take Control of Their Digital Devices, p. 26).
The premise of the book is that when God created man, He gave Him dominion over the world. “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Genesis 1:28, NKJV).
The author explained: “Biblical dominion carries connotations of authority, stewardship, creation, and cultivation. […] We exercise dominion by creating out of the raw materials which God has created and by stewarding those creations for God’s glory and our good. We exercise digital dominion by carefully creating devices, by intentionally purchasing and obtaining devices… and by maintaining wise practices as we use these devices” (p. 16-18). This “dominion” was not given to man so that we could do whatever we want. Instead, “God created you to exercise dominion in submission to his authority” (p. 13).
In other words, we are to exercise dominion over our digital devices in a way that is in submission to the authority of God.
The five questions posed by the author to help us evaluate whether we are doing this are:
- Am I in control?
- How is this shaping me?
- Does this help me flourish?
- Can I discern wisdom and folly?
- Am I being missional?
This short book (just over 100 pages) is filled with helpful reminders and challenges as we try to make the best use of our digital devices. As the author stated in the conclusion, “Wise Christians tread carefully in digital waters. Yet we embrace the digital revolution as an opportunity to advance the gospel” (p. 113). As we use this (relatively) new technology, let us do so in a way that is consistent with our divine mandate to exercise dominion over God’s creation in a way that honors Him.
This book is available from 10 of Those: Digital Dominion: Five Questions Christians Should Ask to Take Control of Their Digital Devices
