Who Owns Your Focus + New Challenge!
A few days ago I saw an Instagram reel that made me sick to my stomach because it made me realize that more of a specific activity had crept into my life than I had realized. It put this activity in a totally different light for me, and I knew I needed to change.
Here is a portion of the audio:
There's a building that is strategically designed to make you forget.
There are no clocks.
No windows.
The lighting never changes.
Every hallway curves just enough so you cannot see the exit from where you are standing.
The sounds are engineered. Coins falling, bells ringing. Not because people are winning, but because the sound of winning keeps everyone playing. This is the casino.
You are inside one right now. Infinite scroll. Autoplay. These are psychological tactics taken directly from slot machines.
Today's casino fits in your pocket.
The longer you stay, the more money they make.
Your attention is the product.
The house always wins.
How long have you been playing today?
Time to audit who is in control. You or the algorithm?
I do not know about you, but I do not want the “house” (aka Satan) to win. I do not want to gamble with the time God has entrusted to me.
If the enemy cannot destroy your purpose, he will just distract you from it. That’s all he needs to do so you don’t complete what God has prepared in advance for you to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
I also do not want to miss God speaking to me because I have zoned out on Instagram or Facebook.
I do not want to miss the people around me that I could be connecting with.
I do not want to miss the beauty of the life I have right now.
I notice plenty of beauty in my life but what if there is new views I am not experiencing because of how social media has crept in?
Listen, social media is neutral. How we use it makes it good or bad.
I feel a direct challenge from the Holy Spirit to be on it less in a mindless way and more in a strategic way.
How about you?
All the things we say we do not have time for… is it actually true?
To really see how this has crept into my life over the last several years, I am challenging myself to pay attention to every time I reach for my phone out of habit and choose something better instead.
You in?
What could change in our lives if we reclaimed even a fraction of the time we give to mindless scrolling?
Here are some of the things I am going to do instead.
Memorize a verse
Send an encouraging text to someone I have not connected with in a while
Pray about what is on my heart
Pray for my future grandbabies
Start tackling one of those “I will get to it later” jobs around the house
Read
Journal
Get prepared for the next day or week in some way. (I realized I used to do this a lot more than I currently do! And I don’t like it one bit!)
Audit your social media usage…but don’t limit it to Facebook and Instagram. What about Pinterest, YouTube, and LinkedIn?
Ask God if HE thinks the time you send on there is furthering the purposes He has for you or not.
In passionate purpose,
Dorothy
Have you grabbed my free 5 day devotional?
https://ignite.passionatepurposeschool.com/