We live in a day and age where so much is at our fingertips… we have unlimited access to information and entertainment on our phones. We can spend hours a day scrolling through reels, playing video games, streaming bingeworthy limited series, watching YouTube tutorials and listening to yet another podcast. That’s just our digital consumption!
When it comes to our eating, well, we can order from almost any restaurant or fast food chain in the city and have a hot meal delivered to our doorstep in about 30 minutes or less. We can order all our groceries and household items online. Instead of having to make a meal from scratch, we can purchase prepackaged boxed goods, granola bars, and bags of chips and cookies. If we are craving some sweets, something salty, or even something a bit savory, we can simply open our pantry closet and find a quick and easy way to appease our appetites.
Should we dare to discuss other substances that are so easy to get our hands on? According to the CDC, in 2023, an estimated 28.9 million Americans aged 12 and older (10.2% of the population) had an Alcohol Use Disorder. 13.5% of Americans 12 and over used drugs in the last month. 22% of males and 17% of females used illegal drugs or misused prescription drugs within the last year. Over 57 million people in the United States use tobacco or nicotine products (vape).
Is there anything wrong with enjoying a glass of wine at the end of the day, treating ourselves to a little junk food or spending a few meaningless minutes on our phones? No, I’m not arguing that these are grave evils.
I am suggesting though, that with so much at our disposal, we can easily neglect a crucial fruit of the Spirit: SELF-CONTROL.
Without exercising Spirit-led self-control, the simplest of pleasures can become idols we bow down to. We can easily and oh-so-subtly become dependent and addicted to things like our digital devices, food intake, entertainment selections, and online shopping carts. We minimize the impact they have on our lives and even justify them in the name of self-care, treating ourselves, or phrases like, “it’s not a big deal” and “everyone does the same things to unwind or relax.”
It’s a slippery slope. Fifteen minutes on our phones turns into hours a day glued to our screens. The ultra-processed foods (which are intentionally designed to be addictive) become staples in our pantry we turn to daily. The glass of wine once a week or on social occasions, turns into a nightly ritual. The Netflix series we thought looked interesting now keeps us up well into the night. The retail therapy turns into mounting debt.
Our lack of self-control is costing us more than we’d like to admit. Our physical health suffers, because let’s face it, drinking excess alcohol, eating processed-foods, smoking, vaping, and neglecting the quantity and quality of our sleep leaves us exhausted, malnourished and disease prone. Our mental health takes a hit because no one has ever walked away from being glued to their phones feeling better about themselves and the world in general. Our relationships suffer because when we are filling our time with over-consumption we are distracted and distant in moments we could be connecting with and drawing closer to those we love. Our productivity plummets because we are tired, distracted and scattered in our thinking and focus. Our emotional health is sabotaged because instead of processing our feelings, we are medicating and numbing them.
And yes, our relationship with God is impacted as well. He created us to worship Him, commune with Him, depend on Him. When we replace intimacy with and trust in God with an addiction and dependency on other things— whether that be our phones, our foods, our drinks, our entertainment, our shopping, etc, we commit idolatry of the heart and distant ourselves from the ways of Jesus and the fruit of abiding in Him.
If you are feeling tired, worn out, numb, distracted, or altogether weary… maybe you don’t need more. Maybe you need less. This has certainly proven true many times in my life. The freedom and hope I was searching for wasn’t found in more consumption, but in repentance. By choosing to deny my flesh and turn to the ways of Jesus (aka picking up my cross daily) I found what was actually missing from my life.
May you have the courage to take an honest assessment of what you are consuming. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where an excess is robbing you of the abundant life that Jesus has for you. And by God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, may you choose differently. May you reach out for help, support, accountability and encouragement. May you get the knowledge and wisdom you need to learn new and better ways. May you do what feels awkward and weird, and be okay with the initial discomfort you will most likely experience while developing and practicing healthier rhythms in your daily life.
When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, the final tactic the enemy used to lure Him was excess. He promised Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for His worship. (See Luke 4:1-13) Thank You, Jesus, for exercising self-control and teaching us that ALL is rarely best! We don’t need everything all at once. We need to worship the One and true God. In our obedient worship of God, our spirit, soul and body are truly satisfied. We don’t need more. We need Jesus’ Lordship over every area of our lives and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to practice true freedom in the form of self-control.