An Honest Evaluation

If you are like most of us, after having completed the screen time compilation challenge, you are a bit shocked at the amount of time spent in front of a screen.  (If you didn’t follow through or got distracted before finishing, I urge you to give it another shot.  It’s incredibly important to be self-aware of the amount of time we are losing to the inconsequential activities that screentime tends to offer.)

So now, let’s use the information we’ve gathered to do a little activity.  If you haven’t yet, take a moment to tally the total screentime minutes you recorded.  Honestly estimate your final tally if you haven’t yet completed the full 24 hours.

Now divide your total number of minutes by 60 to determine how many hours of the day you typically spend focused on a screen.  Multiply that by 7.  You’ll make a note of this number below.  This is how many hours in a week you could be focusing your attention elsewhere.

Fill in the blank and read this statement aloud (if possible):  “I spend an average of ____ hours per week staring at a screen.”

Are you, like me, already making excuses in your mind?

• “A lot of that time was spent engaging in conversation with my family and friends.”
• “This is my network.  This social engagement time is valuable.”
• “A bulk of my online time is spent making myself more knowledgeable.”
• “It was for work.  I was looking for a job.  I was networking.”
• “I wasn’t looking at or reading anything negative or sinful.  It was harmless.”
• “I’m a pretty decent example to my friends on FaceBook. That’s a great use of time.”

What you are or are not doing during the screentime is not on the table for discussion right now.  I understand that finding a better workout or reading reviews for an important purchase seem really important in the here-and-now.  But our focus today is not on “today”; our focus today is on our long-term impact.

Think of the place you spent most of your online or on-screen time.  Where was it?  YouTube?  FaceBook?  Pinterest?  Reading strand after strand of comments from people you’ll never meet?

According to Romans 14:12, So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

Ask yourself this question:

“When I stand before God at the end of my time on this earth, will I be able to justify those minutes, those hours, those weeks upon weeks of screen time as a good use of my limited days on this earth?”

Dwell on that for a moment.  Stop and think.  When you stand before God, will you be able to justify those hours as a good use of your limited time on earth?  This is your one life.  Each day you’ve lived so far is a day that is gone forever.  Your impact on eternity is up to you.  It is how you spend these little moments that add to the big picture of your eternal influence.

You were placed here for a purpose.  Jesus tells us in John 15:16a  “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain.“  Are your moments bringing forth fruit?

The clock continues forward.  The sun will set tonight and today will be no more.  Whether we want to think about it or not, each and every one of us will have a last day to live on this earth. When the sun sets for us the last time, what do we want to be able to spread before the Father’s feet?

I think all of us have a deep desire to hear that we have pleased our Creator.  In order to do so, we have to make more of these little moments count.  We need to take into account what we are doing on a minute-by-minute basis.  The clock continues forward.  The sun will set tonight. What is it that you are doing today that will impact tomorrow?

Today’s challenge is tough because we are working on changing deeply ingrained habits.  It’s so easy as soon as we have a moment of downtime to click open that phone and spend a few minutes here and a few minutes there, but those moments rarely add to our life.  Put down that phone and look around the room.  Seek opportunities to make personal connections that can add to your life and the lives of others.  If God places someone in your path, be sure that you don’t miss them because you’re looking down with a focus on what the world has to offer.

Today’s Challenge: Beginning today, every single time you feel the urge to open your phone, turn on the television, or sit at that computer, consider its impact on you and those around you.  Is there a better way to spend your time?  Evaluate your routine.  Decide if the time spent on television or on that smartphone might have a better use.  There are many things in this life that we can take part in that will bring us closer to others so that we can more fully impact eternity for Christ.  Ask God to open your eyes to this and then simply look around.