Bondage....it's not what you think!

My laptop is on the fritz.  Perhaps because my son accidentally knocked it over and it fell on the floor.  Maybe due to it's age (I have had it 3+ years and it is a refurb).  What I can tell you is that during this past week I have come to realize that I may have a small computer addiction.

I found myself frequently reaching for my laptop during downtime so I could just browse through Facebook to see what was going on.  It didn't happen just once or twice - but several times throughout the day.  I was forced to stop and examine just how much time I spend on mindless social media interactions.....and I am ashamed to admit that it is more time than I am comfortable with.

The irony is that my husband and I decided to limit the screen time for our children.  We were concerned that they would spend so much time on a computer or game screen that they would miss real world experiences.  And somehow I missed the lesson and became the example.

During my Bible readings this week God really drove this point home with the verse from 2 Peter chapter 2.  It says:

for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage (verse 19)

God whispered to my heart that sometimes our enemy disguises himself in order to overcome us.  In my case, I was being overcome with a false sense of camaraderie with others.  Now don't get me wrong, Facebook and other social media tools can be a wonderful communication tool (thanks so much to those of you who are following us!) and way to keep in touch.  My problem was a result of too much of a good thing becoming a bad thing.  ANYTHING that pulls us away from God becomes a bad thing, and screen time was not only pulling me away from God, but was pulling me away from the things God had laid on my heart to do.

I was getting up in the morning and rather than opening my Bible I was opening my Facebook app.  I would be on the computer planning for the upcoming home school year and then get sidetracked when I "quickly" checked my Facebook.  I would log in to Pinterest to pull up a recipe and find myself browsing other pins instead.  And the next thing I would know my husband was home, my kids were hungry and I hadn't managed to turn on the stove.  I would pull out my knitting needles to create an item to donate to my favorite charity only to find myself on my favorite pattern site browsing endlessly for that perfect pattern....that I never managed to get started on before the sun went down.

The good news is that bondage can be a good thing too - in the right circumstances.  It is just a matter of who or what you allow to control you.  The thing is, about 15 years ago I willingly submitted control of my life to Jesus.  Over the last 15 years I have had to stop and examine myself to see where I had given that control to something or someone else instead several times.  It reminds me of Paul who said, "I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate". (Romans 7:15)  I don't want to be brought into bondage by anything or anyone other than Jesus.  But that requires me to daily submit and draw close to God.  Fortunately, when I do that He promises to draw close to me as well.  (James 4:8)

So, for now, it's bye-bye screen time as I refocus.

*originally published on Coffee with Christ