I shared with you in part 1 about retiring from my bread factory 😉 I’d like to add a layer of butter on this bread story!
My daughter brought up that little ones of today are competing with a screen for worth. Thankfully, her younger years were before the online world took over. She remembers face to face time with people & knows the value it held.
Today’s normal is a society of people with phones in their hand. Myself included.
Conversations aren’t had with the very ones in front of us. Life, real life, isn’t being lived. Precious time, that can’t be replaced, is spent on a screen.
The example has been set.
We drive with our eyes competing for screen time, we eat meals with a screen. We go to the movies with an extra screen on the side. Church. Birthday parties. Funerals. School. Jobs. No matter what we’re doing, our eyes & fingers are consumed with a device. We think we’re missing something if we don’t check our device every 20 minutes.
We are missing something. We’re missing living the life that’s all around us. We’re missing time treasures.
Excitement, drama, entertainment, or the next new thing waits to capture our attention. Addiction. Any addiction can be devoured online, including being addicted to the very device we’re using to feed what’s taken us over.
Sometimes, our vision gets cloudy. Our environment seems overwhelming. The click of a button welcomes momentary escape. Phone scrolling becomes a numbing agent. It’s an ‘out’. A temporary boost of anything other than our circumstances. Aimlessly searching & entering a unrealistic online world in an attempt to feel better, connect, or avoid.
No matter what the scenario..the bread of idleness is still being consumed.
There is a lot of good to be found online- connecting with family & friends who are far away, offering hope, raising money for worthy causes, seeing pictures, getting helpful information in seconds, pointing lives to the cross. It can be a huge blessing.
Unfortunately…with the good comes the not so good. Good intentions quickly turn into daily rants, comparison, hate, judgment, defensiveness, inappropriateness, idleness, selfishness, gossip, ingratitude, pride, debate circles, negativity, pot stirring, division, point proving & self centered sharing …all from the very ones that claim to be a follower of Christ.
If it saddens my soul, I can’t even imagine how the God who created us feels. We keep eating bread & casually add in baskets of other sins as if they’re mere condiments.
Ephesians 4 shares some serious truths about being made new in Christ . I think we forget that to the world…we are His image bearers.
The hours we could be spending reading His word, praying, serving, worshiping, being purposeful, using talents, nourishing relationships, spending time with loved ones is being robbed.
Robbed by a thief called ‘self’.
If we logged how much screen time we spent each day, I’m pretty sure we’d be shocked. ‘Strongholds’ are called that for a reason. They can have a mighty strong hold.
The internet & phones aren’t evil in themselves. The enemy is & he’s found another tool to use to distract us from our true purpose. The God of heaven sent his very own Son to die for our sin so that we can be with Him for eternity. He willingly took the punishment we deserve.
Our lives are to bring Him glory. Him alone. He purchased our freedom. Chaining ourself to anything on this earth is not being free. Eating the bread of idleness isn’t where freedom is found either.
I don’t know what the answer is. Technology advancements are here to stay. Maybe, we just need to pause & pray. Ask the Lord if this is the best use of our next 30 minutes before we open our phone screen. Let’s trust that His ways are always better & follow as the Holy Spirit directs us through each hour.
Praying above all else, we choose to guard our hearts! Proverbs 4:23
I’m washing the crumbs off my bread plate & butter from my knife. Fruit platter…here I come 😉
In His endless love,
Tracy
My Hope 