RINGTONES: A CALL FOR PRAYER?

It is amazing, and kind of annoying, the kind of ringtones you hear in public places such as inside a bus while going to work in the morning. The same can be said about the callback tones you are forced to listen to as you wait for your call to be answered. And however absurd ringtones may sound I make it a point not to be too quick to judge or do an LOL (I am told this stands for laugh out loud). This is not something I came by automatically. In the past I would treat ringtones with what my good friend, Odhiambo Ramogi terms as, "the contempt it deserves."

Now I am careful to look out for new opportunities to pray for people whose ringtones break the morning silence inside a KBS bus. I think every person has a valid reason why they have a certain liking for their ringtones. The lady with a crying baby ringtone could be trusting God for a child. The man with a crowing cockerel ringtone could be expecting a raise from his boss so he can take a lady out for some chicken wings at the newest Kenchic branch in town. The person with a bubbling and splashing water could be trusting God for a house whose taps actually spew water when opened. A laughing ringtone could mean the person needs happiness in their marriage or family. A starting car engine could mean the phone owner is trusting God for a car.

So next time you are in a bus and hear someone shuffle through a series of ringtones on their phone and it gets to your last nerve, think what you may like the guy has just bought their first phone and they are trying to get familiar with it. You may want to turn around and advice the guy that ringtone shuffling isn't a 'grown up' hobby because ringtone shuffling doesn't count as an ideal way of passing time. Whatever happens take it as a reason to pray the person gets the right ringtone and take it as an opportunity to ask God to bless the desires of their hearts.

And as for call back tones, well that is a story for another day. Oh, and before I go, perhaps the guy with a crowing cockerel has a poultry project upcountry and each time their phone rings it is a reminder about their project. The point is: pray each time you hear a nagging ringtone be it of a crying baby, a laughing baby, a cockerel, a starting car engine or splashing water. Would you take it as an initiative and invitation to pray instead of thinking how absurd the ringtone sounds.

1 Samuel 1:1-18