I've made an important discovery. I have an addictive personality.
At first, I thought ice cream was my only problem, so I no longer keep a tub in my freezer. But it turns out it goes deeper than that.
Over time, I have added more and more games to my iPad. Those that you play on your own. And with each additional game, I saw another hour of my life disappear. After each defeat, it was always “just one more time.” That desire to win was overriding.
As a result, I would go to bed late and tired and with my eyes rolling around in my head. I often felt anxious (a result of today’s version of the “blue light special”––a reference some of you might not understand) and sleep was a long way off. So…I deleted them all. Yup. Every single one of them. I held my finger down until the little icons began their survival dance, and then I pressed down on each little X until the game vanished.
I admit, I have kept one game that requires a friend to respond because I can’t binge on that one. I have to wait patiently until it is my turn to play again. But all the others are gone.
I have to tell you. I felt an immediate sense of release and freedom. I picked up a book I had been wanting to read for quite a while and dug in. It was wonderful. Projects started getting accomplished, too. But guess what?
Every time I sat down to relax and went for my iPad, the urge to reload those games was great. They had always been a nice diversion, and for some people they still are. But for me, the diversion turned into compulsion. So…
Every day now I have to fight the fight. I pray that God help me summon up the strength to withstand the temptation. True, ice cream and iPad games may seem like harmless addictions, but they are still not healthy, and my susceptibility to their charms tells me I could be at risk elsewhere.
I believe all of us have areas of addiction that we have to fight against, some more destructive than others perhaps, but remember, we don’t have to do it alone.
James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
And Psalm 104:19 reminds us that “they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.”
Stay strong.
At first, I thought ice cream was my only problem, so I no longer keep a tub in my freezer. But it turns out it goes deeper than that.
Over time, I have added more and more games to my iPad. Those that you play on your own. And with each additional game, I saw another hour of my life disappear. After each defeat, it was always “just one more time.” That desire to win was overriding.
As a result, I would go to bed late and tired and with my eyes rolling around in my head. I often felt anxious (a result of today’s version of the “blue light special”––a reference some of you might not understand) and sleep was a long way off. So…I deleted them all. Yup. Every single one of them. I held my finger down until the little icons began their survival dance, and then I pressed down on each little X until the game vanished.
I admit, I have kept one game that requires a friend to respond because I can’t binge on that one. I have to wait patiently until it is my turn to play again. But all the others are gone.
I have to tell you. I felt an immediate sense of release and freedom. I picked up a book I had been wanting to read for quite a while and dug in. It was wonderful. Projects started getting accomplished, too. But guess what?
Every time I sat down to relax and went for my iPad, the urge to reload those games was great. They had always been a nice diversion, and for some people they still are. But for me, the diversion turned into compulsion. So…
Every day now I have to fight the fight. I pray that God help me summon up the strength to withstand the temptation. True, ice cream and iPad games may seem like harmless addictions, but they are still not healthy, and my susceptibility to their charms tells me I could be at risk elsewhere.
I believe all of us have areas of addiction that we have to fight against, some more destructive than others perhaps, but remember, we don’t have to do it alone.
James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
And Psalm 104:19 reminds us that “they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.”
Stay strong.
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