What Are You Doing Right Now?

Study: Americans Spending More Time Online, Less Time With Family

Web-surfing and the internet are invaluable tools for me as I blog you this very minute, working from my home office. However, as my wife and kids are wont to do on occassion, they remind me that I may be spending too much time in front of this machine, at the expense of loving them, loving God and loving peoople. Perhaps more than I'd like to admit.

According to a new study, 28 percent of Americans interviewed last year said they have been spending less time with members of their households. In 2006, 11 percent of Americans had said the same. Furthermore, significant percentages of Internet users said they were sometimes or often ignored because another member of the household spends too much time online (44 percent). An even higher percentage (48 percent) said they were ignored because others spend too much time watching TV.

This marks the 15th annivesary of the web's general access to the public and the amount of time that Internet users spent online has grown in each year of the Digital Future studies, and has now surpassed an average of 17 hours per week (I easily pass that). In fact today, the percentage of Americans who use the Internet has reached 80 percent, according to the study and the highest percentage of web-surfing Americans is under age 18. What does that mean? Well, common-sense, experience, observation and more research has told us that it means more time for on-line, inconspicous, tempting and even dangerous social-networking for immature youth and even less time for outdoor work and play, for interpersonal discipleship and fellowship, time alone with God, His Word and face-time with neighbors, family and friends who need the gift of Christ and the life-saving and transforming truth of the gospel.

Yes we are to yearn for balance and in all things moderation, but that is easier said than done when you think you have time for everything and we can put off priorities and what is most important for tomorrow. What then should you be doing with your time- with a life that only God knows how long will last (Psalm 139)? Here's a hint- relationships. Alhtough the Bible does not lay out a step-by-step order for relationship priorities, we can still look to the Scriptures and find general principles for prioritizing our relationships beginning with family. First. on the vertical side, God obviously comes first: Deuteronomy 6:5, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” If you're married, your spouse comes next. A married man is to love his wife as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25).

Christ’s first priority—after obeying and glorifying the Father—was the church, where he offered an example every husband should follow: God first, then his wife. In the same way, wives are to submit to their husbands “as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22). The principle is that a woman’s husband is second only to God in her priorities. If husbands and wives are second only to God in our priorities, and since a husband and wife are one flesh (Ephesians 5:31), it stands to reason that the result of the marriage relationship—children—should be the next priority. Parents are to raise godly children who will be the next generation of those who love the Lord with all their hearts (Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4), showing once again that God comes first.

All other family relationships should reflect that. Deuteronomy 5:16 tells us to honor our parents so that we may live long and so things will go well with us and no age limit is specified, which leads us to believe that as long as our parents are alive, we should honor them. Following one’s extended family in the list of priorities are fellow believers. Much of the book of 1 Corinthians is Paul’s instructions on how the church should live together in harmony, loving one another. Now how much time does that leave for YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and 'Desperate House Wives?' If you think of "God's Marching Orders" and the call to love our neighbors, I would aruge there is nothing more loving we can do than share the new life - the only life to live in Christ- in word and deed. So, what are you doing right now? I'm going to power down... I hear Mary and Bryana calling...