Wake Up, Look Up

Hello, everyone.
Thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I'm Zach Weihrauch.
And in this episode, we're talking about doomscrolling, and we're asking the question, is Satan in my DMs?
Doomscrolling is the act of getting on a social media platform, let's say Instagram, and mindlessly scrolling through the content.

Doomscrolling can be anywhere from a minute to a couple of hours.
Most of us have experienced that phenomenon where time seems to fall away.
And there's an article I read in the New York Times recently, an opinion piece about the science of why doomscrolling appeals to us that caught my attention.
You may not know this. I didn't till I read this that our brains are actually hardwired for immediate rewards.

The way our brains operate is they will almost always, unless they're trained and pushed in a different direction, take the immediate over the long term.
We're hardwired for instant gratification, which is what doomscrolling is designed to do.
There's always one more video, always one more click, one more content piece out there.
It could be that the next thing we come across is super funny, super interesting, super inspirational, and that's the science that social media companies are leaning into.
They know that to keep us engaged, they have to be dangling the next hit of instant gratification in front of us.

As a result of companies leaning into our brain chemistry, we are all going down the rabbit hole.
And the consequence of that on a physiological and social emotional level is that stress and detachment are at all time highs.
It's interesting because our brains crave instant gratification, but they don't get healthier from it.
It's like when you see a doughnut, you really want that doughnut, but you don't feel better after you eat it.
It's not like all of a sudden it satisfied some kind of deep internal craving.

Donuts don't do that, and neither does doomscrolling.
So as a consequence, most of us are wasting our time with something that is not making us better.
And in this opinion piece, the writer was arguing that the way out of that is by looking at something bigger than ourselves.
Doomscrolling is the ultimate expression of individualism.
It's me finding things that I find interesting to waste my time.

And the way out of that, according to this piece, was to long for something greater, to participate in some great human endeavor, some great human initiative in our communities, in our families, on a grand scale that would call us out of individual detachment.
Well, that's a great way for me to pivot into the gospel because, of course, the kingdom of Jesus is that greater thing.
I think in most Christians, the gap between where we are currently, spiritually, and where we wanna be is a gap we feel and a gap we don't love.
But I think a lot of Christians are stuck trying to figure out, well, how do I become the man or woman of God that I wanna become?
How do I develop this kind of intimacy?

How do I move forward in my role in the kingdom of God?
And I also think we're aware that there are certain obstacles in the way.
That whether it's our own sin or our enemy Satan, there are things in front of us that wanna keep us from chasing after God.
But I think we tend to think of those things as bigger or more epic than they really are.
And I wanna make the case that doomscrolling might just be your biggest spiritual enemy.

That instead of worrying about Satan in the bushes, maybe you should be worried about him simply using Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter to distract you.
Here's what I mean.
Let me give you five reasons doomscrolling is paralyzing you spiritually.
Here's number one.
It stalls your spiritual growth.

No one doom scrolls and an hour later says, I've grown closer to God.
Time spent mindlessly on the internet is time that is not moving us forward spiritually.
In Hebrews chapter five, the writer of Hebrews tells his audience, by now you should be teachers.
He's making the point that the Christian life is meant to be one of progression.
The desire of the spirit of God is to mature us and time doomscrolling doesn't get us there.

It doesn't help us at all.
It's not just that it isn't spiritually productive.
Going for a walk, spending time with family, those are things that are good even if they don't inherently produce spiritual growth.
Doomscrolling just doesn't do any good.
It doesn't grow us spiritually.

It doesn't get us anywhere else either.
Here's the second reason.
It distracts us from our mission.
Look, the writer of Ephesians, the apostle Paul tells us to make the best use of the time because the days are evil.
He's making the point that spiritual maturity is recognizing our lives are short.

Our time is short.
The need is great.
The need for people to know Jesus, to grow in Jesus, for the kingdom to advance.
We don't have time to waste time.
The third reason doomscrolling is not spiritually productive is that it replaces intimacy with noise.

The bible tells us that a big part of cultivating intimacy with God is, in the words of the psalmist, being still.
That means creating space where we're just simply living in the presence of God.
We're listening for his voice.
We're leaning into his guidance.
But doomscrolling is filling our hearts and minds with noise all the time.

It's telling us don't be still.
Don't create space.
Don't be listening for God.
You have to realize that in order to hear the voice of God, you're gonna have to turn down the voices on Instagram.
The fourth reason doomscrolling is not spiritually helpful is that it turns hope into fear.

So much of what's on the Internet is designed to scare us because the more fearful you are, the more you'll keep watching.
But the writer of Philippians tells us whatever is good, whatever is just, whatever is noble, that's what you ought to be thinking about.
That's Philippians four.
And then the final reason is that doomscrolling separates us from each other.
The writer of Hebrews says, let us consider how to stir each other up to good deeds.

Doomscrolling makes my world as small as me and my screen.
But of course the bible is calling me to a bigger world.
A world where I actually care about how you're doing and whether you're growing.
A world where I care about real people, not the digital people on my phone.
Listen, that's five.

I could have given you 50.
Consider that the obstacle in between you and the spiritual growth you're longing for is not any further away than the social media apps on your phone.
Put those down and watch what God does.
Hey.
Thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up, Look Up.

If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it.
And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content or even download the CCC app where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Have an article you’d like Pastor Zach to discuss? Email us at wakeup@ccchapel.com!