App-StinenceSample

Order In The Cortex!

Did you know that Jesus wants us to live a life of order? He wants our UN-divided devotion daily! (1 Corinthians 7:32-35)

The brain's cerebral cortex is the thin, outer layer of gray matter covering the cerebrum, responsible for high-level functions such as thought, memory, voluntary movement, language, and sensory processing. Our brains can only take so much stimulation in a given period before it starts to be harmed by overload. Overstimulation of the cerebral cortex occurs when sensory, emotional, or cognitive input exceeds the brain's processing capacity, leading to heightened stress, mental exhaustion, and reduced cognitive function. It causes symptoms like difficulty concentrating, irritability, anxiety, and sensory overload, often triggered by loud noises, bright lights, or chaotic environments.

With these health facts in mind, what do you think too many hours spent on apps, gaming, websites, phone, and computer do to our brains?

What's even more interesting is that these addictive behaviors affect people differently based on age.

I constantly see small children being babysat with a tablet that gives them access to all kinds of stimulation, just to keep them quiet during a meal in a restaurant. This makes me incredibly sad, as does seeing families paying more attention to their phones in these settings than to each other. This ought not be. Christ wants us to be about each other! In Philemon 1:4-7, Paul tells his friends that their attention, affection, and encouragement meant so much to him and "refreshed" him. This could not have happened if his friends had been engulfed in distractions. They were making the Main Thing, the Main Thing, which was iron sharpening iron. (Prov. 27:17)

Can you now choose to put away the technology when with family and friends? This is an important step to lessening the distractions that so easily disrupt the brain and cause damage not just to your brain but also to your relationships, too.

PRAYER:

Jesus, I have been guilty of putting technology above my family and friends. Please forgive me. Help me, God, to do what's right and make them a priority, always. In Jesus Name, Amen.