Have You Lost the Ability to Think Deeply?

During their debates in the 1850s, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas took one to three hours each to give a speech. They’d then take equally long to respond to each other, with audience members sometimes listening for up to seven hours.

Compare this to the 21st century, where one of the most common entertainment forms is TikTok videos that last 35–55 seconds on average. Americans spend hours a day on social media, scrolling through endless videos, social updates, and memes.

Does it ever feel meaningless to you? Ecclesiastes 1:8 sums up our age well: “All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.” We’re consuming content that goes half an inch deep and continues on a never-ending cycle. We’ve lost the ability to concentrate on reading the Bible for more than a few minutes without checking our phones. We’ve forgotten the art of conversing about deep topics. We can’t focus on a sermon without our minds wandering.

While entertainment isn’t sinful, we need to ask ourselves if it’s affecting our spiritual growth. Jesus commands us in Mark 12:30, “Love the Lord your God . . . with all your mind”—our minds are connected to our affections. When we limit mindless entertainment and replace it with deeper content and conversations, our relationship with God and others will benefit.

Grow in Deep Thinking

In 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You, Tony Reinke writes, “God has given us the power of concentration in order for us to see and avoid what is false, fake, and transient—so that we may gaze directly at what is true, stable, and eternal.” As our ability to concentrate is eroded by cheap entertainment, so too is our ability to discern truth and focus on what has eternal value. We’re wasting God’s precious gift.

We need to ask ourselves if entertainment is affecting our spiritual growth.

The goal of growing deeper in our thinking isn’t to flaunt our knowledge or win arguments. Rather, as Jonathan Edwards said, we should “seek it for the benefit of [our] souls.” Our souls are strengthened when we think deeply about the things of God.

But if we struggle to think deeply about anything, how might we grow our skills?

• Study Bible books inductively. This involves a systematic approach of going verse by verse through a book to understand its original intent. The skill of studying God’s Word will set the stage for all other forms of study.
• Read the classics. Not only will they expand your vocabulary and attention spans, but the complex storylines and moral truths within them point back to God’s ultimate truth.
• Read older theologians such as Charles Spurgeon and Jonathan Edwards. Their deep understanding of God was a reflection of many hours of study.
• Read the founding fathers such as Adams, Jefferson, Washington, and Hamilton. They were reflections of a society that valued reason and pursuit of education.
• Host discussion nights with friends. You can use a framework based on the Socratic method: People come with open-ended questions on a topic, and everyone participates in asking and answering those questions.
• Listen to debates where both sides are defended and challenged. Your brain will start recognizing rhetorical and logical devices and inconsistencies.

Grow in Discipline

You may feel stuck in the digital trap of entertainment where tech companies vie for your attention. You know this consumption of mental junk food isn’t good for you, but you keep giving in, like a hand going back for one more potato chip.

Our souls are strengthened when we think deeply about the things of God.

A few years ago, I was spending too much time on entertainment and not enough on deeper thinking, so I started making small changes. They weren’t radical, but they cultivated more disciplined thinking. Some of these came after reading Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism, which I recommend if you want a deeper dive.

• Start with a digital inventory. To become aware of your habits, track how much time you spend on your phone or on other digital entertainment.
• Move to a digital detox. This might include deleting certain apps, making physical changes like using a regular watch or alarm clock, or setting an “unwind” time when you’re off screens before bed.
• Set limitations on media consumption. You don’t have to eliminate entertainment, but you should set parameters for when and how you use it.
• Introduce new habits of reading and educating yourself to replace entertainment time. Set timers or practical goals like 10 pages or 30 minutes a day of reading to help retrain your brain. It may seem boring at first, but soon your brain will acclimate to the challenge and you can increase your goals.
• Form a book club with friends who also want to grow. The accountability will motivate you to read, and discussing the material will help it stick longer.

We may have gradually and unintentionally adopted our culture’s entertainment habits, but we can purposefully create our own culture of discipline and deep thinking. Proverbs 1:5 implores us, “Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance.”

Our society desperately needs more people who can think wisely, discern clearly, and guide the next generation in God’s truth. It sounds like a big task, but it can start with something as small as turning off the TV and picking up a good book.