quicksand
I had my first hand-held video game when I was in grade school. It had two buttons, L and R, that were used to dodge cars and debris in the road. I was insanely jealous when my brother was given a watch that he could play Pac-Man on.
I love video games. I love them too much. When Dale and I were first married I used to sit at the computer and play Burger Shop for hours and hours. As a young mom I spent all my free moments playing Solitaire on the desktop. In my darkest depression I played Diner Dash while the days and weeks passed unnoticed.
I can remember feeling the shame of wasting so much time staring at a screen. My hand would cramp up from holding the mouse, and instead of taking that as a cue to stop, I’d shake my hand out and keep clicking away.
My vices, while they may seem harmless, entrap me nonetheless. Sugar and video games work like quicksand. I dip my toes in and before I know it I’m sick to my stomach and I can’t move my hand. Pornography is an easy dodge. Overindulgence in alcohol is not a hook. Smoking was never a draw. But a pan of hot cookies or an invitation to play Minecraft, and I have to tread very carefully.
Temptation is a tricky devil. It knows you and your weaknesses. Just like that old saying “If the devil can’t trap you with sin, he’ll keep you too busy to see what really matters.” Busyness is a big one for me. It disguises itself as helpfulness, when it’s really a distraction.
Listen, darlings. Jesus is calling. He can set you free from the quicksand that holds you. Ask Him for help even now, and He will answer. In Christ there is true freedom.
“I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not fasten its grip on me.”
Psalms 101:2-3 NASB1995
So true.
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