A Dream You Awake From Still Hungry
Female Sitting Outside on Her Phone
Isiah 29:8
It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.
As I read Isaiah 29:8 I think about how many things there are in this world that give us false and temporary relief. We experience enjoyment, but then it all is like nothing after a very short time. Don't get me wrong not all relaxation, entertainment or mindless fun is wrong, at least I hope that is not the case. If it is I have a long way to go. I think the answer lies in our priorities, our motivation, and finding a good balance. Personally, I need to find more time for reading quality books, studying scriptures, serving others, talking to family, making friends, and many other valuable things. That balance in our lives is so easy today to let get out of whack it can be frightening. There is so much to distract us and so much fun to have all around us. On the other hand, it is nice to have an easy way to relax your mind and decompress after tough days. Just be careful of the trap these things bring and find you so easily are overdoing it.
Today the biggest distraction is so obviously social media apps on our phones. The companies that build these apps spend billions of dollars every year researching how to keep your eyeballs glued to your phone and their app. They know what they are doing, and they get better at it with every release. I've never seen anything keep eyeballs for such a long time and so easily as TikTok. Its amazing how effective it is at keeping you there. I have found myself caught in the stream of videos and the next thing I knew a couple hours had passed me by. All I did for hours was watch 30 second videos of people I don’t know anything about, doing things you I don't care about, for reasons I can’t explain. When I finally put the phone down I'm are not in a better place than before, all I did was waste a lot of time. The next version of any social media and the next hot app will surely be even better at keeping you tied up wasting time.
Whether it is media, food, people we spend time with, or any activity, we need to watch the type of things we consumed, how much we consumed, and for what reason we consumed it. Is it real and filling our soul, or is it temporary and “like a dream” that has no good effect on us.
Isaiah gives us a wonderful picture with his warning. Much of what we consume in this world is temporary and is like a dream that we awake from having no actual benefits come from that dream. If we do not fill our time with wholesome media, neighbors we can learn from, service for others, and activities that feed our soul, we will remain faint, and continually hungry for something that we cannot seem to find.
