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Marcus: "Tell me about your mind." Christian: "What about it?" Marcus: "Do you control it?" Christian: "Of course I do. I'm a Christian. I have the Holy Spirit." Marcus: "How much time did you spend on your phone yesterday?" Christian: "I don't see what that has to…" Marcus: "Answer the question." Christian: "Maybe three hours." Marcus: "Check your screen time." Christian: "...seven hours and eighteen minutes." Marcus: "Seven hours. Did you choose what you saw during those seven hours?" Christian: "Well, the algorithm…" Marcus: "So you didn't choose. The algorithm chose for you." Christian: "But I could have stopped scrolling anytime." Marcus: "But you didn't. For seven hours. Who was in control?" Christian: "I was just relaxing. It's not like I was doing anything wrong." Marcus: "You gave seven hours of your mind to strangers who profit from your distraction. And you call this 'relaxing.'" Christian: "It's not that serious." Marcus: "Name the last hard decision you made." Christian: "I decided to join a new church." Marcus: "Your wife chose it. Try again." Christian: "Okay, I decided to read through the Bible this year." Marcus: "You made it to Leviticus. Try again." Christian: "Fine, I decided to start working out." Marcus: "You bought a gym membership three months ago. You've been twice. Try again." Christian: "Look, I'm busy. I have a lot going on." Marcus: "You have seven hours a day for scrolling but no time for discipline. Who controls your mind?" Christian: "That's different." Marcus: "It's not different. You think you're in control. You're not. You're being driven. And you don't even know who's driving." Christian: "But I pray every day." Marcus: "While scrolling through Twitter?" Christian: "...sometimes." Marcus: "Your prayers are interrupted by notifications. And you wonder why God feels distant." Christian: "That's not fair." Marcus: "I'm a pagan philosopher who's been dead for 1,900 years. I wrote 'Meditations' about controlling my mind while ruling an empire. You can't control yours while sitting on a couch. Explain that to me." Christian: "Times were different then." Marcus: "Men were the same. We had distractions. We had comfort. We had excuses. The only difference is I conquered my mind. You surrendered yours." Christian: "But you weren't a Christian." Marcus: "No. But I understood what your apostle Paul understood: 'Take every thought captive.' You claim to have the Holy Spirit. I had philosophy. I controlled my mind. You scroll for seven hours. Who's really following their god?" Christian: “I just need to find the right app or system to…” Marcus: "You don't need an app. You need discipline. And discipline requires controlling your mind. Which you don't. Someone else does. Thanks for the conversation." ~TBM