Do You Need a Screen Sabbatical?

Seriously, do you need a “Screen Sabbatical?” The intensity and chaos of our world just stepped up several notches this past week. Probably to higher levels than most of us have experienced in our lifetime.

How are you handling the latest world crisis?

As much as you might like to bury your head in the sand right now, it’s a pretty hard to ignore everything going on in our world. And honestly, I don’t think we should ignore the things happening around us. Whether it’s things in our city or town, or across the world, we are all impacted by the big and small events of life. I don’t see examples in the Bible of Jesus telling Christians to run and hide, but we certainly see times where they fasted, prayed, and RESTED.

The word Sabbatical comes from the Hebrew word Shabbat. If you have been watching “The Chosen”, you are probably familiar with this word! The English word for Shabbat is Sabbath. It means “to take a break or rest from work”.

But did you know that the Romans used this word? The Latin word was Sabbaticus and the Greeks called it Sabbatikos. Why am I telling you all this? Because I want you to see that this is a really old word-an important word used throughout the generations! You may not love word history like I do, but you have to admit it’s fascinating. For hundreds of years, women like you and me were taking time to rest, following God’s example from the time of creation.

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done

Genesis 2:2

But what’s a Screen Sabbatical?

I’m so glad you asked! You may think that taking a rest from screens isn’t necessary because it’s not work. But, think about it a minute . . . it’s actually a LOT of WORK!

Keeping up with your phone and all it’s pings and dings is a heck of a lot of work. It distracts you from everything else around you, and robs you of the rest you need. The rest your mind, soul and heart needs. But it’s not just your phone, right? Our eyes are glued to our TV, iPad, and computer monitor, iWatch, FitBit . . . the list grows longer all the time.

How do you take a Screen Sabbatical?

Take inventory of all the screens in your life, then figure out how long you would like to take a rest from all your devices. Don’t make it complicated. If you know you have to be on your computer for work, that’s obviously not going to work. You need to be “ALL IN” to receive the benefit and blessing of the break from screen time.

A Screen Sabbatical looks different for everyone. Try one of these, or choose your own plan of rest.

• Every night after 9pm
• Sunday afternoon from 1pm-6pm
• A more traditional Sabbath approach from Saturday sunset to Sunday sunset. You could do this with any day of the week that would work for you, this just seems to work the best for me.
• First two hours of the morning.
• Carve out a week! (I know this sounds a little cray, but you could do it if you really wanted to.)
• On vacation or a camping trip.
• Think outside the box.

Words of Wisdom

Can I offer a little advice from someone who has done several of the scenarios above. It’s hard! And it’s more difficult for some of us than others. So don’t beat yourself up if there are some bumps in trying to find this rest. from your screens. It starts with a decision, and accountability, if that works for you. Just don’t end up getting mad at your spouse or friend when they catch you taking a quick Instagram scroll!

I deleted my Facebook account about six months ago when I decided to downsize my Etsy shop. As a business owner, it is very easy to get burned out on social media. Facebok was my least favorite platform that I felt pressure to be on daily. You know what I learned. Facebook wasn’t the problem, at least not completely. I must confess that over time, my screen time went right back up. Did I mention that I love Pinterest, IG, YouTube and Podcast. Yes, podcast count as screen time too because you are still tuned into something outside of yourself and God. The idea is that your phone is out of sight.

What I did discover is that I felt better about myself being off of Facebook, but a Screen Sabbatical was still needed. I believe it’s always needed.

Whatever you can’t put down, turn off or stop thinking about is an idol.

-Stacy Graves

God has a lot to say about idols. Mostly that He doesn’t want them to be more important to us than Him. It’s a bit sobering, isn’t it?

Finding Joy

Now let’s focus on the Joy in this experience! You are going to feel amazing once you’ve had a screen sabbatical or two. Your perspective shifts. Your wisdom grows and you will feel more connected to Christ. You will also feel more connected with your favorite people because you will find your time together is much more meaningful when you aren’t glancing at your screens throughout the conversation.

Let’s get other’s to join in

When my kids were still at home, we had some seasons where everyone plced their phone in a basket in the kitchen during supper or after 8 pm. I would like to say we did this perfectly, but we are human. But doing something is better than doing nothing. Our family was truly blessed by this habit.

Every minute of our lives is precious, choose your minutes wisely and help others do the same. Get some rest from the work of being overly aware of everything going on in the world. It will all still be their tomorrow. I promise, you will be blessed.