Addiction to Entertainment is Destroying Her Life

Women have always struggled with being content in the home and doing what they are called to do. Here is the Apostle Paul's explanation of how young women were wasting their time; At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not {1 Timothy 5:13}. The young women were bored at home so they found things to do to avoid their responsibilities and be entertained instead. It is no different today. It's so easy to be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. What does God command young women do with their time? I will therefore that younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully {1 Timothy 5:14}.

Today, there are SO many things to distract women from the jobs the Lord has called them to do. Here is a conversation that went on in the chat room with one woman confessing her addiction to entertainment and needing help.

I'm addicted; totally and hopelessly addicted to entertainment. Seems like a pretty dumb and harmless thing to be addicted to but it's not. I can't go ten minutes without checking my phone or messing around with a game on my tablet, or watching TV or getting on Facebook or reading some random novel. I'm irritable when I have to be "in the moment.” I feel mind-numbing boredom now just being around my kids or playing with them. I neglect housework many times and take shortcuts with homeschooling in order to have more time for personal entertainment. My kids rarely have a mom who listens to them. It's sucking me dry and affecting my relationship with God, my kids, and my husband {who I would say has a similar problem with the same addiction}. And to be honest, I'm terrified to give it up. I'm terrified of the empty time to fill with things that aren't fun. I'm literally afraid I will react in ways similar to an actual drug addict when they can't have drugs.

I have SO been there, especially a few years ago. I would be babysitting kids and it would seem so boring to actually play with them. I wouldn't ignore them per se, but I would be on my phone or computer every free chance I got. I don't exactly know what changed this for me {I think it was a gradual process that was helped by a lot of things}, but I am not like that at all anymore, so maybe these tips will help!

Get a real alarm clock instead of using the one on your phone. This helped me not to grab and scroll through my phone first thing.

Unfollow everyone on Facebook. I wanted to delete mine, but I still need messenger and groups, so I just unfollowed everyone. I would scroll for hours through my news feed and then click Home just to reread the same stuff I didn't care about in the first place. Unfollowing everyone lets you still be friends so you can see what they post and talk to them if you need to; it just has made my news feed have the same thing on it for weeks on end which is boring, so now it is not tempting to check all the time.

Delete any other social media like Twitter or Instagram. When I deleted my Twitter, my world felt free again! 

Delete all your games and apps. This one takes so much self-discipline but I promise when they are not there, after a while you will not be addicted to passing that next level. This is also VERY freeing.

Read One Thousand Gifts. I haven't read all of it, and she does use flowery language and there have been some criticisms of her teachings, but just reading the first 70 pages or so has changed the way I think about life. It goes by WAY too fast, so when I sit and am bored or think the day is dragging on, I realize I can be thankful for that because how often do we wish we had more time? 

Try doing activities like baking or cooking with your kids. I do these because I LOVE them, but any productive activity that uses physical movement will solve your problem big time! Cooking homemade things with their mama will be a great memory! {I hated pretend games when I was growing up so I have a hard time playing them with kids now, so I just get them really excited about what I like. I love crafts and cooking so that is what the kids I babysit learns to love to do.}

From my last point, start doing a craft or writing or find a hobby that is fulfilling yet detached from technology or reading {even though reading is good; it is somewhat impossible to involve others in it}; write stories, draw pictures, make wreaths, decorate, paint, explore outside, take walks, and involve your kiddos. They need to learn how to entertain themselves too!

Turn your phone up really loud during the day and then set it somewhere close enough to hear but far away enough that you won't see it or get it, like on top of the fridge. I think cell phones have become an addiction so easily because we tell ourselves we need to check them because literally everything is on them! If we turn the volume up and trust that we will hear it when we need it, we can do other things confidently without worrying if we are missing something.

These are all I can think of right now, but definitely pray that you can enjoy the right now and trust that God will help you learn to love the moment you're in! Oh and don't be afraid that real life will be boring or terrible! These are lies from the devil to keep you right where you are! Real life is 100000x better than anything a screen can give you. I think it's scary because it's real out there. There's real joy but there's also real pain. But there's real pain in addiction too; it's just subtle and we can tell ourselves it's not there. But it is, and you know that because you're feeling it right now.

One other women gave this advice, "You are not alone in this. When I read this, I immediately thought of Michael Pearl's amazing study on Romans {free to download from his site}. It has set me free in so many ways because he preaches that we are a new creations in Christ from the moment we just believe. Until we believe we are new and our old flesh has died, we can't be free from our fleshly desires and addictions. Seems too simple, but it's true. He talks about how prisoners who struggle with addictions in the prisons he preaches at are set free when they finally understand Paul's gospel teachings in Romans. I have experienced tremendous freedom from this teaching, and I think you will too."

Don't be like many women out there who are seeking Truth and learning about it but never coming to the knowledge of the Truth. Remember, Satan's goal is to kill, steal and destroy and he will use any means to accomplish this goal. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth {2 Timothy 3:6, 7}.

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, 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