The Algorithim - What’s it effect on you? Is there an effect?

What is an algorithm, and how is it affecting you?

An algorithm is simply a set of rules a computer follows to make decisions. Your phone, your social media feed, your search results, all of it runs on algorithms.

They watch what you click, what you pause on, what you search, how long you linger, and they are learning you. Quietly. Constantly. The modern digital algorithm was refined by companies like Google and Facebook in the early 2000s when they discovered something that changed the world:

if you can figure out what a person wants, you can keep their attention.

Here’s what happened to me. My son-in-law needed a bike rack for his three kids and two adults on their camper. I found a link and sent it to him. Within seconds, my Facebook feed was wall-to-wall bike rack ads.

Same thing happened when I looked at an e-bike. By now, every one of you knows exactly what I’m talking about. You’ve lived this. But the surface question is how does it work. The deeper question is how is it affecting you.

Here’s what I want you to see. Before automated algorithms ever existed, we were already building our own. What is drawing you today - right now?

Think about how addiction works. You find something you want. You can’t get it off your mind. You start pursuing it. You go back again. You are obsessed. That thing, whatever it is, starts whispering your name and you answer.

It could be money, a relationship you know isn’t right, fear of failure running every decision you make, a screen, a substance, a craving you have fed so many times it now feeds itself. That is a human-made algorithm. And it is ancient.

Long before there was Silicon Valley, there was a voice in a garden saying, “Did God really say that? Don’t you want more? Don’t you want to improve your life?”

That voice pointed in a direction that looked safe, that felt reasonable, that appeared to be an upgrade. And like every algorithm since, it slowly, quietly drew them in.

Jesus said it plainly. “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy.” (John 10:10 NCV)

The enemy is not trying to blow up your life in one dramatic moment. He is running an algorithm on you. He is watching what you respond to, what you linger on, and feeding you more of it, until the trap closes and you wonder how you got there.

What’s crazy is, God is watching you too. Are you aware of His presence? Which one do you respond to the most, God or Satan?

You remember the White Witch in the Chronicles of Narnia. She finds Edmund alone in the cold and doesn’t threaten him. She offers him Turkish delight, warm and sweet and exactly what he wants in that moment. With every piece, the desire grows stronger. She is generous. She is kind. Until she has him completely. The sweetness turns to stone. The algorithm works exactly the same way.

There’s an old joke that captures this perfectly. A man gets a preview of both heaven and hell before he dies. He visits hell first, and it’s stunning. White sand beaches, cool ocean breeze, a cold drink in his hand. He chooses hell. When he actually arrives, it’s fire and torment and screaming. He says, “Where’s the beach?” Satan looks at him and says, “Oh, that was when you were a prospect. Now you’re a client.”

Funny, but horribly true.

So what do we do? For me, it comes down to a system. Not willpower. A system. My Bible. My journal. Conversations worth having. Worship. Prayer. Exercise. Eating well. Setting goals. Sharing Christ with people. Showing up as responsible, helpful, and loving.

Paul put it this way. “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8 NCV)

That is not a suggestion. That is a spiritual firewall. When I stay busy with things that are good and godly, the other voices, the algorithms, the whispers, they don’t go silent exactly, but they stop sounding so compelling.

James says, “Come near to God, and God will come near to you.” (James 4:8 NCV) It’s so true. How are you coming near to God? Are you coming near to God - how, when, in what ways?

The algorithm depends on your distance from him. It needs you distracted, restless, and scrolling. It cannot get purchase on a person who is anchored.

You know scrolling is bad for you. The research is not ambiguous. So why do you do it? Because you desire it. That’s the honest answer.

The algorithm is very good at what it does, and desire is a powerful thing. I watch mothers hold their phones while their children watch them. More is caught than taught.

What are your habits? What are your deep desires? What are you chasing? Satan is taking notes. And so is the technology in your pocket.

But there is a better algorithm. A better voice calling your name. Jesus said, “I came to give life, life in all its fullness.” (John 10:10 NCV)

The system he offers, prayer, scripture, community, service, worship, isn’t a restriction on your life. It is the algorithm that actually works. It trains your desires toward things that are real. It points you toward finish lines worth crossing.

If you want to be a new person, consider drawing a line, write start and simply give it your best to finish well. It’s the best guard against the algorithm.

GOD, we live in a world that is very sophisticated at studying us. Technology knows what we want. The enemy knows what we want. And if we’re honest, we sometimes want the wrong things. We wander toward the beach without asking who built it. Forgive us for that. Protect our minds. Protect our homes. Protect our children who are watching everything we do. Train our desires. Make us want you more than what the world is offering. Help us finish well, not just start strong. We choose the life you came to give, the full one, the real one, the one that costs something on the front end and delivers on every promise on the back end. IJNIP amen ♥️