In this version of Muleefu & Friends, I talk to Ugandan gospel artist Anna Makula, about some spiritual themes from her latest music. We also talk about doom scrolling, her thoughts on AI, and everything in between.

Photo/Anna Makula/Instagram

1. At the beginning of your latest release, “Time for You,” is a quote by C.S. Lewis: “The human being is built to run on God.” True, you demonstrate the effects of incessant smartphone use on Christian devotion. What stirred up this concept in you?  

It was a desire to hear God’s voice. Last year (after my album release), many people were advising on what to do next, a lot at the same time, good things here and there, but it was so hard for me to discern what God was saying.

I knew scripture was the way to hear what God was saying. But I have always read the Bible in bits, a portion in Corinthians and Colossians here, yet I also needed to read the Bible as a single story. I then realized I only knew “about God,” but I didn’t “know him,” yet his sheep know his voice.

I was having so much trouble discerning God well, so that song, “Time for You,” came from wanting to make room for God in my mind and a need to remove the constant hum of information from TikTok, Instagram, etc. I was consuming too much to discern clearly, so it came from a pursuit of silence, a pursuit of the voice of God, and a time of wanting his voice.

We are stuck in a social media bubble where we want to consume; we want to know everything, yet God says the most important voice you need is his. Honestly, I am still struggling in this area too, but it’s only when you try to stop that’s when you realize you have a problem. Instead of being present everywhere you are, instead of praying without ceasing, you are chewing the cud of who doesn’t like you online and someone’s comment. Overcoming this takes more than “cutting off gadgets”; it means embracing the intentionality of silence to listen to this still small voice.

2. I felt convicted about my use of tech after watching your song, yet several hours later, I was still battling a headache from doom-scrolling. What warnings and hope exist for a doom-scrolling Christian?

First, acknowledge that you have a problem; usually, we compare our problems with other people’s, so you say, “I don’t have a problem because I don’t spend 6 hours online”—you are comparing yourself with your neighbor. So get the log in your eye removed first. 

In that song, I also demonstrate the biggest hope for a doom-scrolling Christian, namely, God’s presence: there are parts where I’m scrolling the whole day, and right there, I want to imagine Jesus, who’s in the moment closer than my WiFi, saying, “Talk to me, talk to me.” He already said he will not leave us as orphans but will send the Holy Spirit to guide and teach, so literally, God is always next to the doomscroller, and that’s hope. “Immanuel,” God with us, is our only hope.

With us, the God of heaven and earth is often near you, and you have access to him. We all know that as Christians, but we have to contend with it, to contend with our sinful nature that wants constant reels and images, and by the way, communing with God won’t give you a dopamine hit; if anything, it can seem boring, yet it is the drink of our souls; it’s a well from which we, having sipped, get persuaded that nothing else can satisfy. But also, people have done it before; the Holy Spirit is there to convict. Screen time apps didn’t work for me because they didn’t bring conviction, but his word always does. This is our hope; any Christian who loves the Lord will be listening. They will want to listen to the one who saved them.

Photo/Anna Makula/Instagram

3. How have Christian parents especially enabled shallow spiritual and mental engagement among children, from your observation? When did you first hold a smartphone? How have you wisely used it?

They (Christian parents) sometimes also want to be distracted; they are doing the best they know how; perhaps they too are running away from something. Kids nagging, parenting difficulty, and maybe they feel like distracting you, their child. “I’m juggling a lot, so let me hand them the phone. This will keep him busy.

I mean, we had issues in our generation, but kids these days are on another level. They are struggling with comparison, distraction, self-doubt, and friendships online. Your real friends suddenly become disposable because you have someone in the US you are connecting with online. Before, I thought taking away the phone was enough, but the truth is, what we need more than anything is Jesus; we need the Holy Spirit. If your child has disappeared into tech, pray; pray for them, because it’s not a tech issue, it’s a heart issue, it’s dopamine addiction. “Dopamine” sounds like a cool thing to say, but it’s mentally damning. I owned a smartphone at 16, and I wasn’t into social media (it wasn’t a big thing then anyway), so I mostly did reading with it (or maybe social media existed, and I just wasn’t interested), so God has protected me. There are ways I’ve been unwise and wise with it still. And that must change by God’s grace.

4. Where do you see Christian evangelism and growth most affected by ever-scrolling Christians?

I think the biggest problem is that we don’t know how to hear the voice of God anymore; we want the voice of the “man of God” more. Instead, we don’t know what Christ wants; we say we are saved, but we don’t know the lover of our souls. You will not evangelize what you haven’t experienced. We can’t hear his voice, because all day we are digesting things online. Jesus says there are going to be false shepherds who do not lay down their lives for the sheep; they consume, and they manipulate until you are unable to hear your true shepherd.

5. I’m certain, in the digital era, as an artist, you can also firsthand tell of digital opportunities available to Christians, which are those, and what kind of discernment is necessary in using them?

Ironically, evangelism is now huge online; we can reach many people at once. A friend who wasn’t taught the Bible at home growing up and yet was unable to read recently reminded me that the Bible I once downloaded for her is what continually helped her access God’s word. So, digital opportunities are many. What are you telling the 10 people that are following you, beyond making money off them?

Other opportunities in working online also abound; think of the ability to manage brands and market your value. Beyond all that, as a Christian, you have to say, there is an actual human being who is thinking about what I’m saying online, and that is eternally important too.

6. What is going on with Christian art in Uganda? What have been your celebrations and quarrels?

Christian creativity and art in Uganda are thriving; some don’t think so, but God is achieving his glory through it, through as many who create while achieving their purpose. Those who know who gets served by their art don’t fight for fame and fortune. Many of us may not know the influential Christian artists in Uganda, and it’s okay; they are still serving somebody. I’ve been ministered to by unknown or little-known Christian artists lately, so I am celebrating those who know their role in the church and community. 

7. Now that we have ventured into this tech field, tell us your take on artificial intelligence as a Christian.

To be honest, I don’t know. I have personal convictions about how to use it and how not to; I, for example, don’t use it in my interaction with God. Like, I can’t be asking ChatGPT to interpret this verse for me; only at the end of history will we know what the devil was using or not, but for now, I only have personal convictions.

The other question, probably, is what is the line between the technology we have been using all along and AI? So sometimes it’s fruitless to say, “I don’t use AI yet,” yet I am using software that separates music sounds with AI, so you have to define what you mean. Nonetheless, for now, I only have personal convictions. 

Muleefu and Friends are side-by-side conversations with especially Ugandan Christian friends trying to follow Jesus in the spaces he’s called them; if you know a faithful Christian who’s pressing on towards the prize, I welcome your recommendation in the comments to chat with them soon. Thanks for reading!