Dependency Issues

I was thinking about it and I realized that many times we have a dependency issue... Let me explain:

What are dependent on? I know, food, air, water, sleep, shelter, ok... skip those. I'm talking about the other stuff... movies, TV shows, music, books, internet, cell-phones, etc. What are you really dependent on?

The problem with being dependent on things is that we try to act like we aren't dependent. For some reason we believe it shows weakness. So we claim, "I'm not influenced by that." "I don't HAVE to do this." But really, can you honestly say you aren't dependent on it if you can't stop listening to, reading, watching, whatever it is?

The truth is we have a dependency issue. We rely on things to "relieve our stress" or "make us feel good" or "help us relax"... but are those things really worth it? There are only so many things you can commit to. If you watch 3 hours of TV, what are you NOT doing? Your homework? Sleep? Eat? You can't watch TV spend time with God, talk to friends, do homework, and relax at the same time...

Use this devotional as an example... over the past 28 days, have you been at a loss of what to do? "Oh no, I'm bored. What do I do now?"

In youth groups and churches all across the United States, there are kids and adults who are dependent on the church to "help them grow spiritually". And on the average, an individual attends church for a total of 200 hours per year... at least with those who are consistent. WOW... do you really think you are going to grow with only 200 hours of time with God? We spend more time in the bathroom during the course of a year than we do at church... and sometimes we spend time in the bathroom at church!

Take a look at Psalm 119... what does David (the writer of the Psalm) rely or depend on? I know, they didn't have all the stuff we do today, but read it. There's massive spiritual growth because of what he is depending on... and back then they didn't have the Bible like we do now...

So just because the fast ends tomorrow, and you when aren't at church... what are you depending on? Maybe it's time to make some changes... I mean, after all... where has the past "dependencies" gotten you?