Yeah, except Jesus isn't on Facebook. Nor is he writing any of the blogs I follow. Nor is he on people.com or usmagazine.com. He isn't even on yahoo.com where all of the happening news is! Can you believe that? Yeah, me neither. But you think he would be - after all that is where I head to first thing almost every single morning.
I have always struggled with the amount of time I spend on the internet. It is either feast or famine with me. (Big surprise there, right?) And lately it has been a feast. Like a party of the century feast. And it really bothers me that I don't have the willpower to stop.
It bothers me that I choose to spend the first moments of my day checking to see who liked a comment I made on Facebook. Or perhaps I am looking to see if anyone actually read this blog post. Or maybe I am chasing the latest celebrity news because that is so important in the actual world I live in. I mean, really?! Come on, (wo)man!
Why do I put the internet, TV, my cell phone, or any other electronic device above every thing else in my life, but especially over God? The allure of the mirage of fabulousness of our lives that we all create is a huge draw for me. The snippets that we show one another is what brings me back time and time again. Oh, you lost 134 pounds & are now looking great post baby? Awesome. Or your children are angels and never do anything wrong? Awesome. Mine too. Let me tell you about them and show pictures of them on my blog and on Facebook too. Or you just bought a new car or have a huge beautiful house in a new development that has more rooms in it than you will ever find necessary to have? Great. Me too. Let's share.... That draw is what I consider the Devil's allure of the "good" life. I fall prey to that every morning, afternoon, and evening. Because once I start my day on electronics I spend all day on them.
Instead of putting God front and center in my life I put the internet there. How am I ever supposed to get to know Jesus and live the life that I am supposed to be leading as a Christian if I am constantly on the internet reading about so-and-so's latest affair on people.com or if I am checking to see if you commented on a post I made on Facebook? The only thing that the internet is going to do is pull me farther and farther away from God.
There is very little that I actually need the internet for. I do need to check emails. I like to write blogs (when I can do so and be efficient about it and then get off of the computer as soon as I am done). But other than that I don't need it for much else. Truth be told I don't really need it to write blogs. I just enjoy doing so.
I don't know what the answer is. I know that I struggle with an addiction to the internet and to the superficial praises that the websites I use brings all to often. Of course, I want you to like what I write. And I want you to like what I write to you as well. But do I really need those comments to sustain me? Do you really need my comments to sustain you? Not most of them. I need God's Word to sustain me!
I need to find a way to put the internet back in its place in my life: a tool I use to gather information (such as email or directions to some place) and to quickly write my blogs. I need to stop worshiping Facebook, people.com and all of the other websites that I use. I need to put my phone down when I am watching TV. I need to put my phone in one location when I am home with the ringer on and not have it on me as a constant distraction. I need to get back to living my life.
Most importantly, I need to put God first in my life. This means that when I wake up in the morning I need to walk past my phone and the computer (even when I feel that I just need to check this one thing because it is never just one thing...) and head into the school room grab my bible, my devotional, my journal, and my favorite pen head out to the patio and spend time with God.
I struggle with electronics addiction, too. My husband sort of laughs when I come up with some new rules for myself (which I seem to do about once every 6 months). Lately, I've been finding lots of inspiration and good information in the book "Hands-Free Mama," which is available at the library here. I've also been working on developing the habit of starting each day in reflection, writing in my common place book about things I have read and want to ponder on. It is hard to break the cycle of wanting to be on the internet, but I just keep trying and when I slip down into the hole, I keep climbing back out one step at a time.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with your statement about slipping down the hole and then having to climb back out again. I find that I do this several times a year. Time to dig myself out again!
DeleteI tend to find that, when I try to make big changes in my electronics usage all at once, it will work briefly, but eventually I will fall right back where I was. I am trying now to focus on making small changes daily that can build over time. The Hands-Free Mama book is actually really great for that, as it gives so many good pointers and thoughts to ponder in finding my own balance with electronics. Right now, what has been working well for me is no electronics until after we are done with our morning routine and school, and no electronics after 5:30pm. I have slipped up on this a little bit (maybe once or twice a week), but it is a reasonable daily goal that I keep trying for, and I can tell a positive difference when I am doing it.
DeleteI think I have read that book before, but I may have to check it out again. It sounds helpful.
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