In the Old Testament Scripture, it was easy to visualize the idolatry of the children of God with molten or wooden idols from strange nations taking the place of worship of The Sovereign LORD GOD. Studying the lives of the different kings that ruled in Israel and Judah, it is very easy to pick up a trend that the kings who walked in the ways of David, seeking God and destroying all forms of idols and idolatrous places enjoyed the favour of the Lord and men, they ruled well, were overcomers in the battles they had to fight and made their nation proud; like Jehoshaphat (2Chronicles 17: 1-12). Contrariwise, those who allowed the pressure from alien cultures and tribes push them away from honoring GOD as their One and Only true GOD into idol worship and idolatrous practices including sexual perversions were described as evil and never had peace nor enjoyed favour with either God or men, as was the account with Jehoram, Jehoshaphat’s son, so much so that when he died of an incurable intestinal disease after only 8 years of rule, no one missed him (2Chronicles 21-20)!
Young man or woman, I know you desire to live a happy, prosperous and healthy life in favour with God and men, making yourself, your family and the body of Christ proud as you excel in your spirit, soul and body in whatever field of study or vocation that the Lord calls you to..that is God’s plan for you too and our desire as your parents in the Lord, but you see, until you come to terms with and firmly deal with two idols that have become a threat in your generation- digital addiction and sexual perversion, I’m afraid that the good plans you desire may actually never come to fruition. Read on and find out more about these idols and how to deal with them and reign in life with Christ!
Why discuss these issues now?
The topic is actually two distinct conversations but linked in the present reality of information-made-easy by ‘fast-food’ digital communication. Information now has been fractionally distilled to the level of soft copy vs hard copy; analog vs digital and relevance in many spaces in the world system is measured with these parameters in mind. It’s a ‘smart’ phone or tablet not because the user has exercised his mind intellectually and is relevant in engendering productivity either spiritually or academically but because it gets the ‘world’ literally at your fingertips and there are no age limits, parental guidance or ‘warnings from the Federal Ministry of Health’ attached to these devices that the world is dishing out in ever increasing sophistication to the children and youths in this generation. Sex is no longer the gender you were fashioned into by the Lord while you were in your mother’s womb or the expression of intimacy in the sanctity of marriage, but is now the new high, the language of advertisement, the opium of rebellion, the 8th sense to be stimulated and expressed at will.
Very accurately, the Scripture in 2Timothy 3:1-5 is being fulfilled in our homes and schools and churches- ‘but know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.’
This article, will by God’s grace, re-sensitize us as youths to the timeless truth of God’s Word in relation to the world that is no longer just a geographical expanse but is now actually a click away and the effect this is having on our senses and on our sexuality.
“therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:24-25).
“now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.’ (1 Corinthians 2:12)
“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse..” (2 Peter 2:20).
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1John 2:15-17)
“I have the right to do anything’, you say- but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”- but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12 NIV)
“just because something is technically legal doesn’t mean that its spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I’d be a slave to my whims” (Message paraphrased).
Understanding the Concept of Digital Addictions
The challenge to be a ready pen for these discussions came even as the Lord through a seminar on ‘DIGTAL COCAINE by Brad Huddleston’, opened my eyes again to the log in my own eyes even as I critically challenge the speck in the eyes of people held in bondage by the demonic forces of substance abuse like heroin, cocaine, and marijuana. I have come to realize that being digitally relevant and screen dependent has its own strongholds of physical and spiritual addiction that amongst other outlets also affects the right and godly bible-based understanding of our sexuality as Christian youths.
I am a mother, and a wife, and one of the burdens I have for my children and our youths today is how to pass across to them the truth that the world with all its devices and technologies has only one aim to make you and me its slaves!!
That might not sound like a big deal but when considered in the knowledge of God’s Word and in the understanding of slavery this is actually huge! Please check at this point how many hours a day you are awake, then check how many of those hours are spent before one form of screen or the other, and check how many of those hours before a screen or digital technology was spent either in ‘consumer’ activities or in ‘productive’ activities such as skills development, knowledge construction, real life problem solving, bible study and Christian spiritual development. Is something getting clear to you? Are you struggling with impure thoughts and sexual perversions, check the sites, you casually visit on google, Wikipedia, youtube, via facebook and the songs you casually listen to through that headset of yours in the name of ‘it-doesn’t- really-matter’. Can I tell you honestly that you are what you take in either in the form of physical food, psychological or academic or spiritual inputs! The law of gabbage in, gabbage out; what you sow is what you will reap has not changed, and will not change until the law of gravity is annulled!
‘..Friendship with world is enmity with God’; and ‘….if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him’ (James 4:4; 1 Jn 2:15) ‘
Addiction (noun) is defined as the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance or activity.
Addicted (verb) refers to being ‘physically and mentally dependent on a particular substance; enthusiastically devoted to a particular thing or activity.
Originating from the Latin word addict, – ‘assigned’, ‘bound or devoted to someone’
In an article quoted in the book “Digital Cocaine’ addictions were defined as
1. The person needs more and more of a substance or behavior to keep him going
2. If the person does not get more of the substance or behavior,, he becomes irritable and miserable. (Dr Kimberley Young, author of Caught in the Net: How to Recognize signs of Internet addiction)
Examples of such ‘Drugs by another name’ that meet the criteria for the definition of addictions include: Video Game addictions; mobile/cell phone addiction which manifests as texting addiction, Facebook/ social media addiction (snapchat; instagram, whats app; youtube; vine; pinterestetc.) and Internet pornography.
From a scientific standpoint, understanding addictions means understanding the effect of certain chemical messengers in the nervous system that carry the signal of pleasure to a part of the brain known as the pleasure centre (nucleus accumbens). One of such is dopamine, it has been discovered that staring into screens endlessly to keep occupied, compulsive e-mail checking, facebook followership and likes checking, digital gaming , television viewing etc. produce a flooding of dopamine to the pleasure centre that soon gets to the point of overload, more and more stimulation is needed .. this manifests as easy boredom, easily stressed up, increased irritability and anger, inability to concentrate and sit through relevant activities without fidgeting (short attention span). All these easily describe the youths of our day and more than ever before there is an upsurge in the diagnosis of children and youths with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
‘Prolonged use [of digital technology] can overstimulate the nervous system and increase production of cortisol, the so-called stress hormone higher levels of cortisol, increases the risk of experiencing anxiety, depression, insomnia{sleep disturbance}high blood pressure and diabetes.’
Overcoming Digital Addictions
In much the same way that bad habits are formed and become a way of life, good and godly habits have to be consciously patterned into our daily lives; people don’t get addicted to smoking in one day, or digital device usage in a day. It starts as a series of activities repeated over time until the brain and mind accepts it as your way of life. Same thing with overcoming , we have to deliberately put into practice and grow to love the good and godly activities that must take the place of these addictions until our spirit, soul and body accepts the new way of life as the reality and new normal for you! Remember Timothy, Apostle Paul’s protégé, he had his mother and grandmother deliberately instill the Word of God and Spirit into him from childhood and he continued with it under Paul. We need to resist that adolescent thing that tells us we don’t need to submit our lives to either our parents or godly disciplers.
Scientists have discovered the truth that the Word of God reveals from the foundations of the earth and all we are going to be discussing as ways of overcoming digital addiction are patterned on godly principles! They call it self-regulation exercises. The Word of God’s better account of it is deny self! Die daily, mortify your members that are within you!! The basis for success in overcoming these habits will not come from self-motivation as that will still call on your human nature, that the Word of God describes as being dead through and through, rather strength to overcome is actually a result of the Fruit of the Spirit in us on the basis of a genuine repentance from our sinful life, becoming born again of the Spirit and the Word. You must be born- again!! It is not a cliché, a commonly repeated empty phrase..truly the power to overcome comes from a life that is- “no longer I but Christ that lives in me’ so going ahead to put the following into suggestion without first surrendering to Jesus Christ as both Lord and Saviour will be equivalent to building a house with all its windows doors and fine finishing in place on top of sands and…it will crumble once the tests of life’s storms come!
1. Exercise and self-regulation- spiritual exercise before physical exercise – make it a practice to read your hard copy bible and spend time alone with the Lord while deliberately taking away your devices for those periods; don’t resort to using your digital phone or tablet for such quiet times of devotion as you would only be short-circuiting your brain to open other windows and applications. Devote periods of the day to quietly praising God and praying or reading good Christian hard copy literature. Also, there is the exercise of the body-playing a physical sport, going to the gym, taking a walk or a run at least 4 times every week for a minimum of 30minutes, has been proven to help overcome digital addictions, improve concentration and student academic performance. Obesity has more than doubled since 1980, as reported by World Health Organization and this has been linked to increasing times in front of the screens and less time being physically active. Studies have also linked weight loss and exercise to improvement in memory and learning.
2. Sleep – one of the noted effects of digital technology overuse is sleep deprivation which manifests as reduced hours of sleep. Research has linked the overuse of technology by children to sleep deprivation, daytime somnolence and reduced academic performance ultimately for Mathematics, science and literacy (digital dementia guidelines for educators). Overcoming digital addiction and its effects must therefore come actively with removing all forms of technology from the bedroom!! Taking power naps of about 20 minutes during the day against a background of good night’s rest of between 7-9hours depending on age and circumstances is helpful.
3. Go analog- take notes with paper and pen as opposed to using a laptop or tablet that is internet linked.; read hard copy books as opposed to digital or soft copies; play board games which have been found to improve life skills of -following rules, focusing on one thing at a time; taking turns as opposed to struggling for space and me-first and deferring gratification .these board game skills help with problem solving, and creative thinking! Chess, monopoly, ludo, card games etc.
4. Do not be unequally yoked- friends who are addicted to digital technology are a bad influence and should be avoided, even if they are the pastor’s son or daughter. Friendships like that are described as toxic so check who you spend more time with are they always showing you one latest game, app or device? Remember bad communication corrupts good morals. Do not be unequally yoked.