Nine Tests for Your Screen Time

 

Screen Time 2

 

          We use screens in a wide variety of ways for a wide variety of purposes. We work on them, using documents and spreadsheets. We write code on them, fixing errors or creating programs and apps. Speaking of apps, we use them to navigate, to listen to books, to study the Bible, to read the news, to listen to podcasts and books, and to watch video. Speaking of video, we stream it by the boatload, amusing ourselves with that which catches our fancy – sports, drama, mystery, comedy, action, horror, and documentaries. We put screens into the hands of our children, placing at their disposal all that YouTube and Disney care to offer them. We browse social media, engaging in conversation and interacting with friends. We shop on our screens, researching products and then purchasing them. We buy lunch on our screens. We plan our vacations on our screens. We study on our screens, educating ourselves and our children. And this paragraph, as wide-ranging as it is, does not begin to plumb the depths of how, when, why, where, and to what extent we spend time on screens. Phones, tablets, televisions, laptops, desktops, all of them beckon to us constantly, singing their siren song.

          It is impossible to answer whether each of these uses, broadly or individually, is good or bad in every context. I am not going to try. What I do want to do in this post is give you the means to answer that question for yourself. To do so, I am going to propose a series of tests. These are questions designed to help you discern good from evil in the details of your everyday life.

          First, does using it in this way violate clear Scripture? There are numerous cases when the wisdom of our particular screen use is not confusing; it is downright sinful. Much of what we watch as we browse, stream, and game online violates plain Bible teaching. For example, consider the words of the psalmist. I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: Him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: He that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: He that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight (Psalm 101.2-7). This clearly speaks and directly so to what I watch.

          Second, does using it – my screen – in this way offend my conscience? Granted, this is almost entirely subjective, but I am ok with that. God designed and created the conscience, placing it into every human heart as a somewhat fallible guide as we make life choices. I say fallible because we can bend it, molding it into our own image. The wise man strengthens it with the Word and the Spirit and experience; the foolish man weakens it with neglect, bad company, and shoddy justifications. Having said that, it is still a useful tool in this context. There is something powerfully attractive about having a clean conscience. Paul did. Earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day (Acts 23.1). Will you be able to say the same thing after beholding what you are contemplating beholding on that screen?

          Third, does using it this way cause others to stumble? Let us not therefore judge one another anymore: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way (Romans 14.13). I am aware of the fact that your liberty is not bound by my conscience. But my choices speak. They speak of me, showing what I value or accept. Further, they speak into other’s lives, affirming those same things as valuable or acceptable. It is this latter idea that is in view here. If I am using a screen around others, I must keep in mind where those others are in their emotional, mental, and spiritual maturity. I have spent hundreds of hours studying music. There is a running joke around our house that when Dad is on YouTube you stay away because he is probably watching some unsavory rock video for research purposes. While somewhat humorous, it does show us that there are some things you should not partake of while others are around because it may hurt them in ways it will not hurt you.

          Fourth, does using it in this way develop an unhealthy dependency? This is not strictly a matter of right and wrong. It is a matter of control. Something may not be wrong but still be wrong for me if it dominates me. All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any (I Corinthians 6.12). I doubt there is a passage in the entire Scripture record that pertains more to our screen use than this one. Talk about relevant. Dopamine is a real thing, and while I will speak to it later in this series put simply, our screens have a built-in tendency to addict us. They wrap their electronic tendrils around our heart and our brain, inserting themselves without our notice into our subconscious. Without even being aware of it, we reach for our phone and begin to scroll mindlessly. Why? We have been brought under its power.

          Fifth, does using it this way edify? The root of the word “edify” is edifice or building. If my thoughts, choices, and actions are edifying they will build me and those about me. Something may not be wrong, but right and wrong are not the only questions at play. Will using my screen this way help me? Will it help anybody else? All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not (I Corinthians 10.23).

          Sixth, what is the consensus of my counsellors? It is foolish to make important decisions entirely on your own, eminently foolish. Where no counsel is the people fall: But in the multitude of counsellors there is safety (Proverbs 11.14). There are people who are certified experts in the field of screen usage. Numerous studies have been done and more are being undertaken all the time. Parents and pastors have much to offer here by way of experienced perspective. We are foolish to charge on ahead, assuming that since there is nothing evil about our screen time then it must be all good.

          Seventh, will using it this way weigh me down as I try to run my race? Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12.1). It is not a sin to run a 5K in an overcoat and work boots but doing so will certainly slow you down. God has called you to accomplish something for His glory, to parent some child, to husband some wife, to follow some calling, to accomplish His purpose in your life. Will your use of your screen in this way – whichever one of the million ways you might use it – weigh you down as you seek to accomplish something with your life?

          Eighth, does using it in this way redeem the time or waste it? I am not of the opinion that every waking moment has to be spent in so-called useful occupations. Time resting is often well-spent. Time smelling the roses, actually and metaphorically, is wise. But there is a fine line between enjoying all that God has given us and killing time. And to kill time is, by definition, to murder it. I do not know how long of a ministry God will give me, but I have some important things I think God wants me to write. It would be wise to use the time I have rather than frittering it away on things that will not matter a hill of beans ten years from now. Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time (Colossians 4.5).

          Ninth, does using it in this way feed my carnality? My flesh is a curiously stubborn thing. No matter how much spiritual Round Up I pour on my pride it still grows back. I am called to be constantly on watch, not just responding to my flesh when it rises up, but actively attacking it. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry (Colossians 3.5). In the words of John Owen, “Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.” Something on that screen may be perfectly innocent of sin, but if it feeds my vanity or my covetousness, for example, I ought to excise it with the painstaking care of a surgeon operating on a cancerous tumor.

          “This is just great, Pastor Brennan. Now I can’t use my screens at all today.” I feel your pain. My screen time is on the same chopping block with this blog post as yours is. Rest assured, I am not against all screen use. I will speak more to that next week. But I do think it would behoove us to put more care and thought into whether we allow ourselves and our children a certain screen use or not.

          Screen time is not morally neutral. There are positive and negative consequences.

          Think on that today.  

Screens; Good or Bad?

Screen Time 1

          In 1895, the first commercially successful moving pictures were developed. In 1905, the first commercially successful movie theatre, the Nickelodeon, was built in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1927, the first feature length talkie film, The Jazz Singer, was released. In 1938, the first commercially available television was produced. In 1961, the first entertainment video game, Spacewar, was built at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1971, the first coin operated arcade video game, a version of Spacewar, came out. It immediately transitioned to desktop computers when those arrived. Currently, 66% of the America population plays video games. In 1977, the first commercially available home desktop computers were released by three different manufacturers, led by the Apple II. In 1983, the first commercially available cell phone was put on sale by Motorola. In 1989, the first company was launched to sell internet access to the general public. Previously, it had been limited to defense and university purposes. In 1996, the first cell phone with internet access was launched in Finland, the Nokia 9000. In 2005, the first video was uploaded to YouTube by Jawed Karim, Me at the Zoo. It is still up. Now five billion videos are watched every day just on that platform. In 2006, the first television livestream service, Justin.tv launched. Now, every minute, 97,000 hours of Netflix alone are streamed around the world. In 2007, the first iPhone appeared, with all of its ancillary world of apps. Now, approximately 2.5 billion smart phones are in use every day around the world.

          It is difficult to put into words just how revolutionary this paragraph is in world history, and how impactful it is sociologically speaking. To illustrate, I lived through the second half of the above paragraph. I remember the first desktop computers and their limited capabilities. My Dad had a RadioShack Tandy one that I played Connect Four on as a kid. We did not own a television as a child, but, of course, all of my friends did and watched theirs often. I remember the first time I saw a cell phone being used in public. It was at my college graduation in 1995. I remember the first time I logged onto the internet, listening while AOL tried to connect with that weird screeching sound. It was 1998. Email became a part of my life that year for the first time. I remember my first smart phone. I was in my mid-30s. Now then, not counting writing or sermon prep, I spend more hours a week on a screen than I care to admit.

          Screens have changed me. They have made me more efficient. They have educated me. They have allowed my ministry to expand exponentially. They have also stolen my time, tempted me, and addicted me. In none of this am I alone. Our entire society is in some real sense being radically shifted as a result of screens. Our politics, education, entertainment, work, dating, growing up, spending patterns, and a host of other things are being influenced by screens. Nor is our religion exempt. The whole concept of a church service and of church itself is being shifted.

          Is all of this use bad or wrong or wicked? Of course not. Is all of this use good and right and edifying? Of course not. Two things are factual, however. Screens occupy a larger and larger part of our life. And since they are not right or wrong intrinsically discernment in that usage is required, in some cases desperately required.

          God could, if He so chose, have listed everything that will ever be right or wrong in the Bible. For several reasons, He chose not to do so. He does list some specifics in the Word of God, but for the most part He offers us biblical principle and calls on us to use it to discern the specifics of right and wrong in each generation. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word or righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil (Hebrews 5.12-14). In fact, as we mature, we are supposed to exercise this discernment in line with biblical principle so often that we actually become very good at it. Mature Christians use these muscles a lot.

          From time to time, I meet with those who insist if something is not spelled out in black and white in the Bible, I am not allowed to preach that it is right or wrong. That is utter nonsense. Paul told the Thessalonian church to prove all things; hold fast to that which is good (I Thessalonians 5.21). To prove here is to test something. It is to assay the ore in order to determine whether it is genuine or not. Why? Because with many things we do not automatically know. There is not a specific chapter or verse that speaks to it. So we must test it against biblical example and biblical principle, and carefully make a sound judgment call.

          In addition to this truth, just because something is not wrong does not mean it is good for you. A concept or practice may not be sinful but that does not necessarily mean it is edifying for the Christian. Paul instructs us in Philippians 1.10 to approve things that are excellent. This word “approve” is similar to his word “prove” above. It is to stamp “pass” on an idea or practice rather than “fail”. But the bar here is not ok or even good; the bar is raised to the standard of excellent.

          While I cannot deal with all of the issues at play here, between now and Thanksgiving on this blog I do intend to deal with some of the larger ones. I might also add that I found two books particularly helpful along this line. I will use some of their content in this series, though you would glean much more if you picked them up yourself. The first is a secular book by the experienced child psychologist Nicholas Kardaras. It is Glow Kids: Screen Addiction is Hijacking Our Kids and How to Break the Trance. The second is an evangelical Christian book, Tony Reinke’s 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You. To the illustrations and facts and thoughts I found here I will add some additional biblical principles, principles designed to help to prove all things, to help you discern both good and evil.

          I hope it will be a blessing and a practical help to you and your family. We will begin next week with nine questions to ask yourself in relation to your screen use.

          See you then.  

Mingled

 Note: Thirty-four years ago, I began writing poetry. From time to time, generally between blog series, I like to share one with you. Today's poem I wrote my sophomore year of college. I was struggling a bit, remembering a painful period in high school, and associating that with my current arc. It speaks of how I would cry as I walked my paper route of an afternoon after school. We so often minimize/ignore pain. I believe/d that is unhealthy. One of the ways I've dealt with pain in my life is to write. Such was the case with this one, a meditation on tears.

Stay tuned; a new blog series launches next week.

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Mingled

How oft have I mingled my tears

With rain that came from the sky?

How oft through my highschool years

Did thunder drown out a cry?

The salt and the fresh on my cheek

As if they'd the perfect right

To merge into one angry streak

Stinging my face and the night?

How oft did a snowflake drift down

To melt at the touch of a tear?

On leaves all crumpled and brown

A darkening stain would appear.

How oft on a sweat-soaked face

Smudged with newspaper ink

Streaks from each eye would race

While eyelide rapidly blinked?

How oft would the bite of the wind

Whip a drop past my ear?

I'd glance, thinking to find

Rain, but be blurred with a tear.

Snowflakes, raindrops, and sweat,

Sunshine, night time, and dew,

Pine needles, gravel - I'll bet

Tears will still mingle with you.

-Tom Brennan

September 7, 1992

Obtaining Peace: Love God's Word

Peace 14

          In this blog series, I have attempted to shine a light on that precious blessing known as peace. I have defined and described it, spoken of what accompanies it, discussed what prevents it, and given you eight specific means of obtaining it. With today’s post, I offer you the ninth and last scriptural method of obtaining God’s peace, peace of mind and heart and spirit. It is this: love God’s Word. Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them (Psalm 119.165).

          Loving God’s Word is mentioned several times in this psalm. O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day (Psalm 119.97). I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love (Psalm 119.113). I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love (Psalm 119.163). Plainly, this is a point of emphasis both in this psalm and with the Lord. Do you love the Bible? Do you love your Bible?

          It is relatively easy to quickly answer in the affirmative and move on. “Yes, Pastor Brennan, I do love God’s Word. Now, when will the peace arrive? Today or tomorrow?”  It is quite a different thing, however, to evidence that love for God’s Word. Do you have any evidence to back up your assertion that you love it? Is there any proof?

          Do not tell me you love it if you do not know it. A. W. Tozer used an unforgettable phrase as the title of his most well known book, “The Knowledge of the Holy.” The extent to which I love God is seen at least in this, the extent to which I know Him. Surely, I cannot claim to love a God I do not know much about. The same is true with God’s Word. I dare not claim I love it if I know little about it.

          Do you know the books of the Bible? Do you know the basic gist of each one? Do you know the great stories of Scripture? Do you know the main characters in the Old and New Testaments? Do you know the events of the life of Jesus Christ? Do you know where in the Word you might find the doctrines you hold as precious?

          Do not tell me you love the Bible if you do not study it. Jesus called us to search the Scriptures (John 5.39). Paul commended the Berean Christians because they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily (Acts 17.11). Paul instructs us to study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Timothy 2.15).

          Do you merely listen to teaching and preaching, or does that listening drive you to study the content of it? Do you accept what your pastor says simply because he says it? Do you ever look up the references he cites later? Do you ever write down a question that comes to mind in order to search for the answer later? Would you recognize if he got off on some unscriptural tangent?

          Do you study what it has to say about your own needs? Yesterday, I sat with a child of God who is attempting to return to Him. We spoke at some length of their desire for God to work on their life. Do you have such a desire? Have you taken up the Word of God in order to find in it what you need to rebuild or grow your life?

          What do you do when you come across a word in the Bible you do not understand? Ignore the fact, or study it out? What about doctrines you do not understand? Ever study out one of those? What about a deep dive into some Bible character, tracing God’s hand at work in the arc of his or her life from beginning to end?

          Do not tell me you love the Word of God if you do not read it. Mandy and I exchange hundreds of texts a month. If I ignored them all, how could I maintain with a straight face that I love her? Why, it would be impossible. Read it at a scheduled time. Read it in an orderly manner. Read it when you are moved to, when your soul is hungry. Read it aloud with your family. Read it at work on break. Read it at school during lunch. Listen to it on CD or via a streaming app. Put it up as decoration all over your house.

          Do not tell me you love God’s Word if you do know think about it. God instructed Joshua, This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein (Joshua 1.8). Meditate on it by schedule. Meditate on when the Lord brings it to your mind. Meditate on it on purpose, to chew over what you read earlier. Meditate on how it applies to your life. Meditate on what it reveals to you about God.

          Do not tell me you love the Scripture if you do not speak about it. George Herbert said, “Love and a cough cannot be hid.” If you really love someone or something, it overflows all over your life like an unwatched pot of water boiling on the stove. People know you love the Michigan Wolverines. They know you love coffee. They know you love camping. They know you love Thai food. Yet somehow, you assert that you love the Word of God but no one in your life is aware of the fact?

          Do not tell me you love the Word if you do not sing it. Just this morning I read through Colossians and came again across the wonderful passage about singing God’s Word. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord (Colossians 3.16). We have a culture driven by music. Our celebrities are music celebrities. There is music playing in every store, during every commercial, and on most radio stations. Music tracks fill our databases. Our lives are best reflected by our self-chosen soundtrack. How much of that music is composed of what you claim to love, the Word of God?

          Do not tell me you love God’s Word if you do not memorize it. In this very psalm we are called to such precious work. Thy word have I hid in mine heart (Psalm 119.11). Can you quote by memory the verses for the plan of salvation? Do you know what it is like to lay awake at night on your bed, and softly whisper the words of Psalm 23 to quell your heart’s fear and worry? When subjects come up in discussion around you do Bible phrases and passages come often to mind?

          See? It is relatively easy to say you love God’s Word; it is rather more difficult to prove it with our lives.

          The word “great” is a terribly over-used adjective. Yet God never over-uses any word, including this one. In fact, he only defines peace as “great peace” one time in the entire Scripture record. What a priceless possession great peace must be. For such a thing, a man might give all the possessions of his house, yet it only comes one way. There is only one avenue in the entire record of Scripture to obtain great peace. We must love God’s Word.

          “I do, Pastor Brennan, I do.”

          If you know me personally, you know I have a great love for each of my children. I do not claim that; I live it. I know them. I study them, trying to figure out what makes them tick, why they do what they do, why they want what they want. I think of them often. I speak of them often. I have memorized numerous details about their life. I have even made up unique songs for each one of them. Why? Because I love them.

          So it ought to be with the Word of God in my life. And when it is, peace comes. Not just ordinary, everyday, run of the mill peace. But great peace.