The Red Dot Addiction

“Spending time with God puts everything else into perspective.” (Unknown)

Why the title, The Red Dot Addiction?

Well, if you’re on Social Media and have your notifications turned on, you have an idea of what I mean.

No, you won’t find this illness in the New England Journal of Medicine (although it may well be on its way), but it is a growing obsession from millennials to ‘tech savvy’ adults. These tiny ‘red dots’ that appear on our cell phone apps are consuming our time.

The Apple community calls these dots badges — they indicate that a new message, email, push notification, or voicemail is awaiting your attention. Not only do these dots indicate that you have a notification, but the number within it, tells you how many.

 3, 6, 9, 12, and the numbers can go on-and-on.

So, let me ask you. How often do you check your Social Media alerts?

I’ll be honest. I have gotten better. There used to be a time that whenever the tiny red dot appeared on my Facebook app, I would stop and look to see what interesting piece of information was awaiting me. But then, five minutes turned into an hour, and an hour turned into two or three hours. Then, before I knew it, half the day had gone by, and I had not done much of what I intended to do.

Ugh!

I would scroll and go through each notification. I was reading some posts all the way through and speed-reading through others, feeling proud of myself when I had cleared all the red dots out. And then, before I could log off, another red dot would appear — a new notification. You’ve got to be kidding me.

I found myself saying out loud, who has this much time to spend on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram?

And myself said, “People in the middle of a pandemic.”

Well, to say the least, I had to find some wisdom. Quick and in a hurry.

Father, James 1:5 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” (KJV) So Father, according to Your word, let it be done unto me.

Social Media is just one of many things that draw our attention away from God. Even though there are many people on these platforms posting inspirational content, there’s nothing like spending one-on-one time with God for yourself.

The messages that other people post are revelations or inspirations God has revealed to them. They post them with the hope of it speaking to you, too. Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn’t.

But wouldn’t you rather hear from the Father directly?

Having a direct communication line with God is personal. It makes you feel like you’re a special friend to Him. As a matter of fact, Jesus told His Disciples, “I have never called you ‘servants,’ because a master doesn’t confide in his servants, and servants don’t always understand what the master is doing. But I call you my most intimate and cherished friends, for I reveal to you everything that I’ve heard from my Father.” (John 15:15, TPT)

“I call you my most intimate and cherished friends.” If Jesus feels this way about His Disciples, can you imagine how God feels about you and me?

My challenge for you this week is to set some boundaries when it comes to your Social Media engagement.

Now, I check mine twice a day — once in the morning and then again at night. And if I happen to have some free time in between, I might check then, but only then.

And by the way, yes, those little red dots with the numbers on the inside of them still bother me. But, my motivation is God and the plans and purposes He has for me.

Join me next week for more Coffee on The Couch.