What does the Bible say about screen time? 

The time I spend on my phone… it’s a topic I would rather avoid. 

Honestly, I am convicted about this all the time. I’ll look up, realize I wasted an hour on my phone, and groan. 

Our default is to pick up our phones when we have a minute, and before we know it we’re sucked in, only to return to the real world groggy and remorseful.

Can you relate to this?

I know that I shouldn’t spend so much time on social media, but why shouldn’t I? It is hard to control our habits through sheer willpower. But if we understand the reasons why God doesn’t want us to, taking the reins of our screen time will become easier. 

How we spend our time matters

“Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16).

The Bible tells us to use our time wisely! And I’m afraid that most of the time we spend on our phones is not put to good use.

A while ago, I would’ve taken this as a sign to work constantly to avoid being lazy. We must use our time wisely, after all! But I recently wrote an article about rest and how God both knows we need it and wants us to have it. So I know that constantly trying to produce results is not what we are meant to do either.

The problem here is that we often label phone time as taking a break when really, it is not at all restful for our brains. We are supposed to find rest in God. Spending time with Him is how we are going to recharge.

Staring at our phones for hours each day is wasting time, but growing closer to God while we rest is quite the opposite.

We are not meant to live selfishly

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).

Oof. This verse always convicts me. I am so good at thinking about myself.

When I examine my motives for spending so much time on Instagram, I see only selfishness.

Generally, I’m not loving or serving people when I’m on my phone. I’m looking out for number one’s interests only, hoping to get a hit of dopamine so that I can be happy.

It is very hard to look out for other people’s interests when we are on our phones.

This is not the way we are called to live! Selfishness only leads to misery.

We find delight in the Lord

I saved the best point for last. 

“Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).

There was a point in my life when I was addicted to Instagram, and I was always trying to draw pleasure from it. But guess what? I was miserable! When I realized that I delighted myself in Instagram, I was shocked.

At that time, I saw delighting myself in the Lord (spending time with Him) as a miserable chore that I occasionally did only to ease my conscience. Eventually, I deleted Instagram and committed to spending time with Him every day.

It turned out to be amazing. I was growing closer to the Lord, finding joy in prayer, and learning from the Bible! I found out that the true desire of my heart was to be with God.

So I can testify that Psalm 37:4 is true! When we delight in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our hearts, so think carefully about what you are trying to delight yourself in right now.

We are not supposed to rely on our phones for happiness. And the truth is that they won’t bring us joy. They will only leave us empty, searching for more. 

God, however, will truly fulfill us. When we draw near to God, He draws near to us, and it can become the best part of your day. 

Application

Now, I am not writing this article just to make you feel guilty about the time you spend on your device.

But I think it is very important that we apply Scripture to our lives.

“If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” (Matthew 5:29-30) 

If the Lord is convicting you to take action, I encourage you to do so.

For me, it took deleting Instagram for a few months. Maybe God is calling you to do the same with whatever app distracts you. Or maybe it looks like getting an app that kicks you off your phone after a set time. Maybe it’s a completely different addiction that is pulling you away from God. 

I encourage you to think and pray about it, and then do what God is asking you to. If what He wants you to do seems impossible, ask Him to help! He wants to help you overcome this. 

I promise you will not regret it.

We often see following the “rules” of the Bible as a negative thing, but that is not the case.

God loves us. He gave us His Word for our good.

Using our time wisely, looking out for the interests of others, and delighting ourselves in the Lord are all things that will drastically improve our lives.

So be excited! When we remove these things, God fills us up with much greater things!

Replace screen time with God time.

When we put Him first, He fulfills the desires of our hearts.

And it’s better than we could ever imagine.

I hope you enjoyed that article from Abby! If you’d like to read more of her writing, PLEASE go check out her website and/or subscribe to her blog <3 I’m sure you’ll find a post to enjoy!

~Shiloh~