I am officially off of facebook. Although my profile isn't visible right now, facebook was sure to let me know that I could easily come back, just by logging in as usual (which would reinstate my facebook page). That's good to know, since I got off of facebook because it was a problem for me.
Well, I guess I should state it more strongly. It wasn't just a problem, it was a habit. And not a good habit, like daily Bible reading or keeping my teeth brushed (not to compare those two by putting them in the same sentence, but you get my meaning). For me, facebook was a destructive habit.
Now, you may say, "Destructive? Little ol' facebook?" And I will reply with a resounding, "Yes!"
You see, I tend to be obsessive and compulsive about things. This can be good, if my obsession is for the things of God, or my compulsion is to be a good steward of the money God has blessed me with (more on that, later). But, in this case, my compulsion was unhealthy.
Although I justified that I was "only" on facebook for a couple of hours out of the 24 given to me each day, that is a HUGE chunk of time in my life. The routine in my home for my quiet study time, my homeschooling, my housekeeping--it all had gone south because of my computer time. I would go on facebook just to check something, or to respond to an email I'd received, and the next thing I knew an hour or so was gone. Worse yet, I was getting annoyed and pushing my children away when they were interrupting me while I was perusing the site (while "Cat's in the Cradle" was playing in my head). Inexcusable behavior from someone who claims to homeschool partly so she can spend more time with her children. Someone once said that more is "caught" than "taught," and I hated what my children were catching through my behavior.
Another problem for me was my own insecurity. I would get on the site to check whether someone had commented on my current post. Whether it be a link to my blog or just some random thing, I would be disappointed if someone didn't say something about it. And, I would be hurt when others would post how they got together and I wasn't invited, or if I tried to chat with someone online and they would quickly go offline. Regardless of the motivation of others, I was spending a lot of time upset about things on facebook. Not to mention how many times I had visited a link someone else posted, which lead me to visit multiple other links, wasting precious time reading things that weren't important, let alone encouraging.
I knew that God wanted me to stop it for some time now, but I told myself I'd modify my behavior, instead. I wouldn't go on unless someone sent me a facebook email, and only then would I quickly look at the statuses and then log off. Unfortunately, that didn't work. Just like all sinful (disobedient) behavior, trying to do better didn't work.
Then I read this scripture:
Obedience to God is so freeing. Tomorrow is the start of a fresh week of school, and I have loved not spending extra time on the computer this weekend. I check my email and post to my blog and then I get off the computer! With God's grace, I'm conquering other sinful habits in my life. But, as I mentioned above, more about those, later. :)
Well, I guess I should state it more strongly. It wasn't just a problem, it was a habit. And not a good habit, like daily Bible reading or keeping my teeth brushed (not to compare those two by putting them in the same sentence, but you get my meaning). For me, facebook was a destructive habit.
Now, you may say, "Destructive? Little ol' facebook?" And I will reply with a resounding, "Yes!"
You see, I tend to be obsessive and compulsive about things. This can be good, if my obsession is for the things of God, or my compulsion is to be a good steward of the money God has blessed me with (more on that, later). But, in this case, my compulsion was unhealthy.
Although I justified that I was "only" on facebook for a couple of hours out of the 24 given to me each day, that is a HUGE chunk of time in my life. The routine in my home for my quiet study time, my homeschooling, my housekeeping--it all had gone south because of my computer time. I would go on facebook just to check something, or to respond to an email I'd received, and the next thing I knew an hour or so was gone. Worse yet, I was getting annoyed and pushing my children away when they were interrupting me while I was perusing the site (while "Cat's in the Cradle" was playing in my head). Inexcusable behavior from someone who claims to homeschool partly so she can spend more time with her children. Someone once said that more is "caught" than "taught," and I hated what my children were catching through my behavior.
Another problem for me was my own insecurity. I would get on the site to check whether someone had commented on my current post. Whether it be a link to my blog or just some random thing, I would be disappointed if someone didn't say something about it. And, I would be hurt when others would post how they got together and I wasn't invited, or if I tried to chat with someone online and they would quickly go offline. Regardless of the motivation of others, I was spending a lot of time upset about things on facebook. Not to mention how many times I had visited a link someone else posted, which lead me to visit multiple other links, wasting precious time reading things that weren't important, let alone encouraging.
I knew that God wanted me to stop it for some time now, but I told myself I'd modify my behavior, instead. I wouldn't go on unless someone sent me a facebook email, and only then would I quickly look at the statuses and then log off. Unfortunately, that didn't work. Just like all sinful (disobedient) behavior, trying to do better didn't work.
Then I read this scripture:
"All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything," (1 Corinthians 6:12 NASB, emphasis mine).When I read this, I realized that I'd allowed facebook (among other things) to master me. I would like to say that I immediately took down my page, but I didn't. I thought about it for another month. Then I posted an announcement that I was taking down my page, so if anyone wanted to stay in touch, they needed to email me or visit my blog. Out of 250+ "friends," only one sent me an email saying they would miss me. I must say that helped me to combat all the "just think of what you'll be missing!" thoughts that bombarded me as I pressed the "deactivate" button.
Obedience to God is so freeing. Tomorrow is the start of a fresh week of school, and I have loved not spending extra time on the computer this weekend. I check my email and post to my blog and then I get off the computer! With God's grace, I'm conquering other sinful habits in my life. But, as I mentioned above, more about those, later. :)
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