Men, Put Down Your Screens and Pick Up Your Sword

Christian men, we are living in a war zone. Every day, a battle rages for your mind, your eyes, and your heart. The enemy has found one of his most effective weapons, and he hides it in plain sight. It sits glowing in your hand, mounted on your wall, or perched on your desk. It feeds you hours of noise, vanity, and godlessness – and you call it “entertainment.”

The modern man spends far more time staring at screens than he does reading the Word of God. He can quote movie lines and sports stats, but he cannot quote Scripture. He can stay up till 2 a.m. playing games, but he cannot stay awake for prayer. We have raised a generation of men who know more about fictional heroes than the true Hero who conquered sin and death. Brothers, that is a tragedy.

Want some stats? Here are some for you. As of Q3 2024, the average person aged 16–64 spends 6 hours and 38 minutes every day staring at screens—phones, computers, and tablets included (via Backlinko). Yet according to Barna’s State of the Bible research, only about 16 percent of Christians read the Bible most days of the week, and the typical believer spends far less than an hour in Scripture over the same period. That means the average man gives technology nearly 50 hours a week, but gives the eternal Word of God only mere minutes, if any. We fill our eyes with digital noise while our souls go unfed. The Apostle Paul warned, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15–16). Every hour matters. What you give your attention to shapes who you become. If our screens consume our time, they will soon consume our hearts.

The Cesspool of Secular Entertainment

Make no mistake – today’s entertainment industry is not neutral. It is not “mostly safe.” It is far from that. It rigorously mocks God, glorifies sin, and conditions your conscience to grow numb. When we sit before the TV and soak in the filth of Hollywood, when we spend hours on video games that reward pride, lust, selfishness, and violence, or when we “doom scroll” through dozens of mindless TikTok or Instagram videos, we are handing our hearts to the world. The Apostle John warns us plainly: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).

Every show, every video, every game is preaching a sermon. The question is, who is your preacher? Are you listening to the Spirit of God, or are you feeding on the messages of rebellion, greed, and lust that are streaming on your devices? The entertainment of this age celebrates what God hates and mocks what God loves. When you continually consume it, you dull your spiritual senses until sin stops looking sinful.

The Call to Wake Up

Paul wrote in Romans 13:11–12: “The hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”

Wake up, men. Stop wasting your life staring at glowing screens while the world burns. Your wife and children need a spiritual leader, not a distracted consumer. You can’t use the excuse that you “need to unwind.” Yes, every person needs to decompress and have a little downtime now and then, but most men trample all over that pitiful excuse when they rot their brains and blacken their hearts on hours of non-stop garbage while their families get neglected. The Church needs soldiers of the cross, not spectators of entertainment. Every hour you give to the screen is an hour you could have spent in prayer, in the Word, in leading your family, or serving your church.

Pick Up the Sword

The Word of God is called “the sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17). But a sword does no good if it stays sheathed. Too many Christian men leave their Bibles unopened while they scroll endlessly through nonsense. You cannot fight temptation or stand against the lies of this culture if you do not know your weapon.

Jesus Himself, when tempted by Satan in the wilderness, did not argue or negotiate. He quoted Scripture. He stood on the Word of God. If the Son of God used the Word to defeat temptation, how much more do we need to be armed with it?

Men, the Bible is not optional reading. It is your lifeline. It is your training manual. It is your weapon against the schemes of the devil. When you open it daily, you hear the voice of your Supreme Commander and King. When you memorize it, you store ammunition in your heart. “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).

The False Comfort of Screens

Many men retreat to screens to escape stress or boredom. They say, “It helps me unwind.” But what they really mean is, “I do not want to face reality.” The world tells you to escape into pixels; Christ calls you to endure by faith. You were not made to be entertained – you were made to be holy. You were not saved to be comfortable; you were saved to be conformed to Christ.

The man who spends more time before his screen than before his Savior will never know spiritual power. He will be weak, worldly, and ineffective. James warns us, “Friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4). If you are a friend of the world, you make yourself God’s enemy. That is serious. No game, no show, no video is worth that.

The Discipline of a Soldier

Paul told Timothy, “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him” (2 Timothy 2:4). Christian man, you are a soldier in the army of the Lord. Stop getting entangled in the trivial distractions of this world. Lay aside childish things. You have a mission: to know Christ, to lead your family, to proclaim the Gospel, to fight sin, and to stand firm in this evil age.

War demands focus. Soldiers do not waste their time binge-watching filth. They prepare, train, and stay alert. You and I are in a spiritual war! The devil does not fear a man who can marathon through a TV series, but he trembles at a man who is constantly in prayer, feeding on Scripture, and walking in holiness.

A Call to Repentance and Renewal

If your life is consumed by screens, repent. Confess it as sin. It has dulled your mind, stolen your time, and weakened your soul. Throw off the chains of endless entertainment and run back to the Word of God. Start small if you must, but start. Read the Bible daily. Pray daily. Replace wasted hours with worship. Ask God to restore your hunger for righteousness.

David said, “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways” (Psalm 119:37). That should be our prayer: “Turn my eyes, Lord. Let me no longer stare at what is worthless. Let me see You and seek after You.”

Let’s Seek God Instead of Entertainment

Brothers, the clock is ticking. The King is coming. You will not stand before Him and wish you had watched one more show or played one more game. You will wish you had spent more time knowing Him, loving Him, and leading your family in His Word.

Put down your phone. Turn off the screen. Pick up your Bible. Fight like a man who knows eternity is real. The world is at war for your soul. Choose your weapon wisely.