Scrolling and Binging: Why Our Escapes Don't Bring Peace

You prayed, you felt peace, and then you woke up and the worry was back. In the final episode of our series on worry, we talk about why that isn't a failure of faith, and why peace is something we practice rather than something we feel once. Drawing on Philippians 4 and Lamentations 3, we look at how Paul learned contentment in prison, why “I can do all things” is really about staying steady, and how the poet of Lamentations chose to call God's compassion to mind in the middle of the rubble. Along the way we name the ways we usually cope instead (binge-watching, doomscrolling, betting, and buying comfort) and ask a better question: where will I take my discomfort?

In this episode:

  •  Why the worry comes back, and why that's human, not faithless

  •  The shift from the peace of God (Phil. 4:7) to the God of peace (Phil. 4:9)

  •  Contentment as something learned, one morning at a time

  •  What “I can do all things through Christ” means in context

  •  How we check out: streaming, scrolling, sports betting, and retail therapy

  •  Lamentations 3: remembering God's love on purpose, and letting hope follow

  •  A simple daily practice to carry with you

Try this week:

  •  Give God the first minute of your day before you check your phone.

  •  Choose one “true thing” about God and write it where you'll see it.

  •  When worry returns: notice it, name it, and turn back to your true thing.

  •  Pause before you reach for the remote, the app, or the cart, and pray one honest sentence.

  •  Swap one evening of scrolling for something that restores you.

  •  Tell a friend which true thing you're carrying, and ask them to check in.

Reflection questions

  •  Where do you usually go when you want to “check out”?

  •  What would it look like to bring that discomfort to God first?

  •  Which “one true thing” about God do you most need to remember this week?

If anxiety is overwhelming your daily life, please reach out to a pastor, a counselor, or a trusted friend. Asking for help is one of the ways God cares for us.

Sources:

CivicScience: Stress is driving Americans to disconnect (https://civicscience.com/widespread-stress-is-driving-americans-to-disconnect-as-interest-in-talk-therapy-collides-with-cost-and-discomfort/)

CivicScience: From binge-watching to therapy (https://civicscience.com/from-binge-watching-to-therapy-how-americans-are-navigating-mental-health-today/)

Pew survey on smartphone use, via The Financial (https://finchannel.com/?p=134970)

Johns Hopkins sports betting study, via Boston 25 News (https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/study-links-sports-betting-expansion-increases-anxiety-depression-treatment/QYYZDS3G2VFIDEMZHFEDCLOS3E/)