This Devoted Life

Devoted Devotional: Living God's Truth in a Digital World

• James and Shanda

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0:00 | 13:08

James and Shanda introduce their new "Devoted Devotional" series focusing on applying biblical truths to everyday life, diving into what Scripture teaches about social media use and intentional living in a digital world.

• Shanda shares her experience taking a three-month social media break and the impact it had on her perspective
• Implementing boundaries such as "no social media before noon" helps maintain focus on family and priorities
• James discusses removing social media apps from his phone to reduce mindless scrolling and increase intentionality
• Ephesians 4:29 reminds us that our online communication should be edifying, not corrupt
• Psalm 101 warns against setting wicked things before our eyes, challenging us to be selective about what we consume
• Matthew 5:29 emphasizes the importance of taking drastic measures if something causes you to stumble
• Ephesians 5:16 encourages redeeming our time wisely rather than wasting it online
• 1 Corinthians 10:13 offers comfort that we aren't alone in our struggles with technology
• Biblical principles apply to modern challenges even when the specific technology didn't exist when Scripture was written

Continue to seek God, love your spouse, hug your kids, and stay devoted. Leave us a review and share these episodes with friends to help them live this devoted life too.

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Website: This Devoted Life
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Welcome to This Devoted Life

Speaker 1

What started as a Saturday morning coffee date turned into a podcast where we chat about things like faith, family finances and so much more.

Speaker 2

In a world that is encouraging you to live your truth and to follow your heart. We want to encourage you to live devoted to the truth.

Speaker 1

The Bible has a lot to say about how to live a victorious Christian life, and we want to share practical insight in how to apply those truths to your life, as we endeavor to apply them to our own lives as well.

Introducing Devoted Devotional Series

Speaker 2

If you enjoy this podcast, please leave us a review and share these episodes with your friends so that you can help them live this devoted life too. Welcome to another Devoted Devotional. Yes, we finally settled on a name we're going to call it a Devoted Devotional, but in these episodes, we're going to focus on what does the Bible say, and so our topic for today is going to be what does the Bible say about social media?

Speaker 1

Wow, this doesn't sound like a short podcast. No, no, no, no, we're going to keep it short.

Speaker 2

No, no, no, we're going to keep it short. You know, with being in an online influencer, I know the struggles, the ins and outs of being on social media a little more regularly. And you know, last year we did a whole episode on the fact that I took three months off from any form of social media and just the influence that technology and social media has on our lives. So if you want to see that episode, I'm going to drop that in the show notes below.

Speaker 2

But it is really hard to make sure that we are intentional with our time when we are on, there it's so easy to just start scrolling post after post and you find yourself either engaging with something or just like mindlessly scrolling, and we got to make sure that the content that we are viewing and the things that we are saying online and the amount of time that we're spending online is, you know, lines up with what the Bible says. So, you know, last year took the three months off. It was wonderful. It was kind of just like the time that I needed to detox from it. I found that I was just being on social media far too much and just kind of getting sucked into that vortex of like mind numbing whatever.

Speaker 2

And you know, in my head I was like, well, I have like this business that I'm running, and so it felt justified. But really most of the time that I was on there it was not for that purpose, it was just me mindlessly scrolling. And so as we came into the new year again, you know, I wanted to be very intentional again with my social media, but I didn't want to. I didn't feel that I needed to take that full break to detox again, but I wanted to be more intentional in the day to day because I had, you know, taken that break but I had not been intentional when I came back to how much time I was actually going to put on my phone you know, um.

Setting Boundaries for Intentional Living

Speaker 2

So since the first of the year it actually started like the week before um I said I am not going to be on any form of social media before noon, and the reason that I did that was because I wanted to make sure that I was not waking up, grabbing my phone and just starting to scroll, you know, because I found that I had fallen into that bad habit and then we also school in the morning. So if I wasn't going to be on social media before noon, that meant that I was fully present, completely intentional, with our kids.

Speaker 2

And so just setting parameters for myself and just making sure that I was being intentional with the time that I was putting on there. That doesn't mean that I don't scroll and like, enjoy and consume sometimes, but it just helps me start my day off right.

Speaker 1

Yeah, yeah, I've actually and I don't, you know, I don't. I think I mentioned this to you, but we haven't really made this like a big thing but I don't know, a couple weeks ago I actually deleted a couple apps off my phone. Not that I like canceled, you know, I'm actually only on like a couple social media platforms anyways, um, but and like, the two that I deleted off my phone were instagram and x and it just you know. Again, you can whatever trap you can fall into, like you said, the mindless scrolling, the distractions, the wasting of time, the actual enticements whether you're male, female, whatever, I mean those, they're crafted to work really entice you in whatever way, and I deleted them off my phone just because it made them way less convenient to go to.

Speaker 1

So really I have to be really intentional to go on them, and with that I'm usually not on it very long, and there's been days that I don't even open them up on any other device and yeah. So it's just, it's a good way that I've found to kind of just get back on track and refocus and whatnot.

Biblical Principles for Online Communication

Speaker 2

So social media wasn't around when the Bible was written, but we can still take practical advice from God's word and apply it to social media. So can you read probably the first verse that we had listed on there.

Speaker 1

Yeah. So Ephesians 4.29 says Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace unto the hearers. That's such a good one, I mean's super good.

Speaker 2

I mean no corrupt communication. So I laugh when I think about social media, because people seem to hide behind their screens and they just blast people with word vomit, but it's like if you were actually sitting in front of someone. You would never say the things that come across on social media.

Speaker 1

And if you did, you would be like ostracized or called out immediately.

Speaker 2

It would be terrible, like no one would be okay with that, and so I just love that that verse reminds us not to let or to be careful with our words and to make sure that the communication that we have on social media is going to be one that not only is not corrupt, but is also edifying, and I think that that's really important to point out is that our words need to be uplifting, you know, and that it's intentional both ways. You don't want to be a stumbling block, but you also want to be someone who's uplifting someone else.

Speaker 1

Yeah, you can. I mean again, you know social media gets a bad rap. There's obviously so much good. I mean really, this podcast, in a way, is distributed through social media. So you know, inherently in and of itself it's not necessarily bad. It's just, you know, usually you can fall into negative traps, but you absolutely can use it for edifying and use it for good.

Speaker 2

Absolutely. And then Psalm 101 says I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes. I hate the work of them that turn aside, it shall not cleave to me and once again, I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes. Goodness, like you can't be online for long before, even if you're super intentional, something stumbles across your screen and you're like oof, didn't want to see that, or whatever. And so we have to be very intentional with who we are following, even just the ads that pop up.

Speaker 1

Yeah, I was going to say you don't even have to follow or do whatever they target demographics and things like that. You basically have to go into that, eyes wide open, that you are being targeted.

Speaker 2

So I think it might almost be even harder for men. You know like I scroll through social media and I don't see a ton. But you've told me you know just the ads that pop up for you because you're a man, they're like very, you know busty women and you're like I don't need to see this. And you're like hide, hide, hide, as. You're like man, they're like very, you know busty women and you're like I don't need to see this.

Speaker 1

And you're like hide, hide, hide as you're like going through it, but the algorithm just tries to put it in there.

Speaker 2

And I've always appreciated that you were very open with me you know about that and that you were very intentional about turning your eyes from those things. You know.

Finding Balance and Redeeming Time

Speaker 1

So, yeah, just, you have to be so careful and if you, yeah, again it's. You know, I mean it's very difficult in a way, but that's kind of what we're talking about is, in some ways, we choose the difficult, and maybe the simple choice is to just remove yourself from it If you're finding that that is something that's causing you to stumble, just shut it off, absolutely.

Speaker 2

Yeah. So Matthew 5.29 says If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you, for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And that seems so extreme right, and that was.

Speaker 2

Jesus talking when he said that and yes, he was being extreme, but he was being extreme for a purpose, and he wasn't saying that you actually need to pluck out your eye but what he was saying was that sin. It's important for you to root it out of your life.

Speaker 1

And so like with this big grandeur thing of just pluck it out, like pluck your eye out if it's causing you to sin, he's just showing the importance of making sure that what you are setting before your eyes is good, yeah, it is funny, Growing up in a fundamental Baptist church for pretty much my whole life fundamental Baptist church for you know, pretty much my whole life Some of the messages I've heard on this passage have been pretty graphic sounding. I can only imagine.

Speaker 2

All right, and let's see we also have Ephesians 5.16. It says redeeming the time because the days are evil, and once again it kind of comes back to just that mindless scrolling. Like is that really redeeming the time that you have? It's a waste, you know, so often.

Speaker 1

You can. You know I shouldn't say we need entertainment in our lives, but you know there's a time to, you know, really be creating. There's a time to consume some. There's a time to, you know, be impacting other people. There's a time to, I think you know, have some entertainment. So, but again, it's the, you know, balance or counterbalance, however you want to say that, and just the again, the intentionality of it. We, we need to redeem the time because you know the, the days are fleeting and we only have so much time here on earth and I don't think, you know, provided we get to live a long life and we're kind of on a deathbed, you know, the last few weeks of our lives, I don't think we'll look back and say, man, I really wish I would have scrolled a few more reels on Instagram.

Speaker 2

I know I will not. If anything, you might have regrets. Yes, exactly, which actually is a really good segue into the last verse that we're going to say, and it's 1 Corinthians 10, 13. There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you're able, but will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Speaker 2

And that verse, I just think, is comforting to know that you're not the only person who's struggling in this area you know there are many people who struggle with their social media consumption or just their technology consumption in general, and you are not the only person who's struggling with this, but God will also give you a way to escape it. You know, and maybe it's this podcast that just kind of makes you go. Hmm, I probably should be more intentional with this.

Speaker 1

you know, yeah, absolutely no one is perfect and we all fall, and you know we all struggle with different things and it's how you know you respond and it's how you go to God for forgiveness and ask for forgiveness, but also, you know, try to root it out and try to grow and make those changes that really become. I mean it can really change the course of your life.

Speaker 2

Yeah, absolutely. Yep. So you know, even though, like I said, social media wasn't around when the Bible was written, even though, like I said, social media wasn't around when the Bible was written. I hope that these verses were encouraging to you as the listener and just maybe gave you something to think about that the Bible does have a lot of practical wisdom for whatever we're going through. Even if it wasn't something that was around when it was written, the principles still apply and we can apply them to our lives.

Speaker 1

Absolutely. It's a living word of God.

Closing Thoughts and Outro

Speaker 2

It absolutely is. So until next time, continue to seek God, love your spouse, hug your kids and stay devoted. Thank you for tuning in to this Devoted Life podcast with James and Shanda. We appreciate your support in sharing biblical, uplifting truths with the world. If you found value in this episode, please leave us a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback helps us to improve the show and we'd love to hear from you. Be sure to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode. To learn more about how to live a life devoted to God and family, head over to thisdevotedlifecom. You can also follow me, shanda, on Instagram at devoted underscore motherhood. You can also follow me, shanda, on Instagram at devoted underscore motherhood. Thank you again for listening and we look forward to seeing you next time on this Devoted Life podcast.