Put Down the Screen – After You Read This

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At times like these it can be all to easy to seek out a distraction from our feelings and anxieties than seeking out a solution to them.

I know I’m guilty of sitting in front of a screen for hours on end as a distraction from reality.  I also know I’m not alone in this.  On the one hand, our TVs, tablets, computers, radios, and smart phones are really good at distracting us from the passage of  large amounts of time.   And yet on the other hand sitting in a chair for five minutes in silence can be unbearable.  In seasons like these where bad news seems suffocating, it can be all too easy to just turn on a screen to distract from dealing with real feelings and anxieties. 

The bad news is real.  Millions, if not billions, of people across the globe are out of work and out of school.  Wages are being lost, retirement funds are evaporating, and the stores that used to have plenty for everyone now don’t have enough to go around.  People are losing loved ones to sickness on the one hand and social distancing on the other hand.  You might personally be feeling very lonely and powerless, stir crazy and anxious.  I’m here to tell you you’re not alone.

While it seems as if there are shortages of everything, the one thing most everyone has seemingly in abundance is time.  Worst of all, it can be all too easy to not know what to do with all this time and so it gets squandered on screen time. 

Now I want to say upfront that technology is a good thing.  After all, you are reading this blog post on one of those devices I was talking about.  I’m not suggesting that you throw out your TV, your smartphone, or your tablets.  What I am suggesting is that you make time for silence.  That you take the opportunity to unplug even if just for a few minutes.

We all are experiencing overwhelming fears and emotions.  Where will my next paycheck come from?  Where will my next meal come from?  Will my family and friends be ok?  Will I be ok?  Is God doing this to us?  Where is God in all this?  I feel alone. 

It is precisely because of these feelings that we NEED to resist the urge to just drown ourselves in screen time.  It is not healthy to use these screens as coping mechanisms so you don’t actually deal with the emotions you are feeling.  Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Disney+, Netflix, just regular old Television, the news, Xbox One games, the Nintendo Switch, computer games, and apps are all good things in and of themselves, but when they become means of escape, you will find they cease being enjoyable.  They won’t actually help you feel better and might actually make you feel worse.

My challenge to you today is twofold.  First I challenge you to take some time today to sit in silence, to unplug, and to allow yourself to really feel.  Use this time as an opportunity to pray.  Tell God honestly your concerns. Release your anxieties and fears to God.  Ask for grace to get through tough times like these.  As the Psalmist wrote:

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1

Secondly I challenge you to make the most of this time.  Start a hobby.  Read a book.  Play a board game.  Exercise.  Clean the house.  Call your family, friends, or neighbors on the phone or over skype to show that you care.  Use this time to actually rest. 

If you take up these challenges, I can’t guarantee that your problems will be solved magically, but I can guarantee you that you will find a sense of peace.   Reach out to God, and make the most of the time that God has given you. 

Ron Ullrich is
Associate Pastor of Outreach
at Generations of Grace
in Lebanon, TN