Screens
Screens
Good Morning,
Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."
Psalm 5:1 “Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.”
In our society, people reach for their phones first:
• First thing in the morning
• First thing, when they have a moment's break
• First thing when they go to bed at night
If someone reaches for something every time they have a spare moment, they are addicted or have a serious “habit” (to say the least).
Years ago, if a guy tried to quit smoking, he would often reach into his shirt pocket; a lady would reach into her purse or wherever her cigarettes were kept. That reach identifies an addiction.
People used to gather around the television in the living room, but with the shift in culture, parents began putting a television in every bedroom. People with good sense knew that was a bad idea, and wise parents would never let any child have a television in their own room.
Addictions start small and innocent: a casual touch, a smoke, a certain food or drink, not something that seems like a big deal at the time; one can take it or leave it. Over time, that addiction grows until it consumes the thoughts.
People used to watch the six o'clock or the ten o'clock news. Crazy people with no self-control might watch both. These people watched the same stories multiple times, but they still did it because an addiction to the screen in the living room was developing.
How many times a day do we see the same news story? (On the phone?) Digital information states that our phone receives updates every few minutes. Recent surveys suggest that the average American picks up or checks their phone about 180–200 times per day. One widely-cited 2025–2026 survey from Reviews.org stated the number was 186 times a day (roughly once every five minutes while awake) – that is an addiction!
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
Are we filtering all that information through the Scripture command in that verse? Absolutely not! We are simply absorbing that which the media (or the prince and power of the air) sees fit to feed our minds.
I believe….
Our lack of peace
Our lack of fellowship
Our lack of prayer
Our lack of family communication
Our lack of romance
…. Are all tied to screens.
There is no way to accurately determine the tragic harm that is being done to:
• young minds
• teens who stay up late playing video games
• perverted men who gaze at vile and shameful media
• ladies who escape to a digital or entertainment world
We need to seriously consider how much screen time we personally entertain. Then we should seriously ask ourselves how much time our children may be subjected to that influence.
Here are my suggestions:
1. Set a time limit on the number of hours a day that children may look at screens – no matter what is on the screen.
2. Likewise, adults should set a time limit on how much non-work screen time is wise for them.
3. No children should ever be allowed to watch anything that the parents cannot see when casually passing by.
4. No game should be allowed in which our children are playing with people on the Internet whom we do not know. There could be no end of simply perverse young people or child predators who frequent those online gaming sites.
5. We should never allow screens to be so much a part of our evenings at home that when Dad or Mom says it is time to read the Bible, people are disappointed.
May God give us wisdom to protect our minds and our children's minds.
Pastor