The American Soul

Digital Detox, Faith, And The Duty To Care

• Jesse • Season 5 • Episode 170

Share episode

Seven hours on screens, and somehow we still feel starved for connection. We take a hard look at the cost of constant scrolling and map out a simple, sustainable detox that trades distraction for real presence. No sweeping pledges, no moralizing—just small, daily choices that rebuild attention, warmth, and trust at home and in our communities.

We start with the data and move quickly to the heart: what screens steal from marriages, friendships, and parenting. Then we get practical. Think three to five minutes a day, phone out of reach, paired with a concrete act—reading a Psalm, sharing one real question at dinner, taking a short walk, or calling someone who’s lonely. Like any good training plan, consistency beats intensity; habits compound. Along the way, we ground the practice in Scripture: 1 Peter 3 on mutual honor in marriage, Revelation 14 on endurance and fidelity, Psalm 142 on honest prayer when we feel low, and Proverbs 30 on the humility that steadies us. Faith shapes the why so the how actually sticks.

Courage and service take center stage through the story of First Lieutenant Cecil Hamilton Bolton, whose leadership under fire reminds us that comfort is not the goal—love is. We also revisit President Herbert Hoover’s 1931 Christmas message, delivered during crushing unemployment, to recover a distinctly local ethic of care: families, churches, schools, and neighbors lifting one another through unselfish service. That same spirit can live in our homes today when we guard eye contact, protect mealtimes, and give our best attention to the people right in front of us.

If you’re ready to swap a few minutes of scrolling for richer conversation, prayer, and service, this one’s for you. Listen, try the five-minute detox window, and tell us what you replaced it with. If the episode helps, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review—your note might be the nudge someone else needs.

Support the show

The American Soul Podcast

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1791934/subscribe

SPEAKER_00:

Hey folks, this is Jesse Cope, back with another episode of the American Soul Podcast. Hope y'all are doing well wherever y'all are, whatever part of the your day you're in. Well, I sure do appreciate you joining me and giving me a little bit of your time and energy, a little piece of your day. I will try and use it wisely. For those of y'all who continue to share the podcast with others, tell others about it, thank you. I sure do appreciate that. I hope y'all are getting to listen to it with somebody else. Parents, children, friends, family. For those of y'all who continue to pray for me and for the podcast, thank you very much. Very grateful for your prayers. Need them and want them. Father, thank you for today.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you for you, Father, and your Son Jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit and this life you've given us. Thank you for this season that we're in. That reminds us.

SPEAKER_00:

Perhaps a little bit more than we usually do to think on your son Jesus Christ and his sacrifice, his willingness to come die for us.

SPEAKER_01:

Forgive us when we make problems that aren't really there, Father, when we focus on division, when we let our pride and our greed and our selfishness get in the way of doing your will here on earth, of bringing those who are lost to you and your son, of caring for the widow and the orphan, the poor and the needy.

SPEAKER_00:

Please be with our military and our law enforcement firefighters in us, those who are going out into the cold, dark, rain, snow, sleep. Protect them from evil, keep them safe. Bring them home to their families safe. Keep their families safe. Guide our pastors and our priests in the pulpit. Give them courage. Be with their wives and their children. Their families. Help us to encourage them and support them. And be with our leaders across the nation here in America and around the world, wherever people are listening, Father. And be with those who are listening. Thank you for them. Give them wisdom and courage. Give us all wisdom and courage and a strong faith. And please guide my words here, Father.

SPEAKER_01:

Your son's name we pray. Amen.

SPEAKER_00:

So there's two things that I really wanted to talk about today, but that would take more of your time than I feel comfortable asking for. So I'll probably put one off. I think it's actually the more important one until the next podcast. But there's an article, I think this is pretty important. There's an article in the Epic Times talking about the need for digital detox, the growing trend of digital detox, stepping away from devices. It's by autumn Spretimen. At any rate, it's a pretty good article. It's got a lot of good stuff in it. There's a couple things. One of the stats in here is that since 2013, screen time has risen by nearly 8%. On average, U.S. residents spend seven hours and three minutes per day looking at digital screens. Another exploding topics analysis showed that U.S. teenagers spend almost half their waking hours, seven hours and 22 minutes per day looking at screens. This article talks a lot about what we miss out on, how stressed out we're getting and how much we're missing. There's other things that we could be doing with that time. I know this is true in marriages. I've seen plenty of examples of that. I also know it's true as parents with their children and vice versa. We're giving time and energy, attention, affection to pieces of plastic, really, when you boil it down to it, folks, to people that we don't even know. Doesn't matter whether it's entertainment or sports or politics, the majority of people, things that we watch and give our time to, they don't know who we are. They'll never know who we are. And we have these real-life human beings in our houses, our homes, our communities that need our attention. And instead of loving them and dealing with them face to face, we're looking at screens. One of the biggest takeaways from this article, and I'll leave you with this, is the need to kind of do this piecemeal and consistently. And it's true, folks, of working out, it's true of anything that you do. The Marine Corps, you know, it hammered muscle memory, muscle memory. Learning a language, uh, any skill, it would be better to do it for just a little bit each day than for two or three hours, maybe once every week or two. This is also true in our marriage and and our relationships in general. So uh reading the Bible, praying, just take it a little bit, folks. If if all you can do is just force yourself to put the phone down, the iPad down, turn the TV off, even if it's just for five minutes, three minutes, whatever it is, start there and then do it every single day until you build a habit, and then add a little bit more time, and a little bit more time.

SPEAKER_01:

And find things to fill that time with in the real world. I took more time on that than I wanted. We're gonna move on. Marriage verse for today comes from one Peter chapter three godly living.

SPEAKER_00:

In the same way you wives be submissive to your own husbands, so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be one without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chast and respectful chase and respectful behavior. Your adornment must not be merely external braiding of the hair and wearing gold jewelry or putting on dresses, but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. For in this way in former times the holy women also who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, just as Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him Lord. And you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear. You husbands in the same way live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman, and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered. Go back into Revelation and chapter fourteen, verses one through twenty. Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together. This great choir sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God and before the four living beings and the twenty four elders. No one could learn this song except the hundred and forty four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth. They have kept themselves as pure as virgins, following the lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the lamb. They have told no lies, they are without blame. And I saw another angel flying through the sky carrying the eternal good news to proclaim to the people who belong to this world, to every nation, tribe, language, and people. Fear God, he shouted, give glory to him, for the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water. Then another angel followed him through the sky, shouting, Babylon has fallen, that great city is fallen because she made all the nations of the world drink the wine of her passionate immorality. Then a third angel followed them, shouting, Anyone who worships the beast and his statue, or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand must drink the wine of God's anger. It has been poured full strength into God's cup of wrath, and they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels of the Lamb. The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshipped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name. This means that God's holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write this down. Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work, for their good deeds follow them. Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came from the temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come. The crop on earth is ripe. So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested. After that another angel came from the temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel who had power to destroy with fire came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with a sharp sickle, Swing your sickle now together the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment. So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God's wrath. The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the wine press in a stream about a hundred and eighty miles long, and as high as a horse's bridle. A Psalm of David regarding his experience in the cave. I cry out to the Lord, I plead for the Lord's mercy. I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles. When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn. Wherever I go, my enemies have set traps for me. I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought. No one will help me. No one cares a bit what happens to me. Then I pray to you, O Lord, I say, You are my place of refuge, you are all I really want in my life. Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. Bring me out of prison so I can thank you. The godly will crowd around me, for you are good to me. Proverbs thirty verses twenty through twenty three. There are three things that make the earth tremble, no, four it cannot endure, a slave who becomes a king, an overbearing fool who prospers, a bitter woman who finally gets a husband, a servant girl who supplants her mistress Medal of Honor for today. Cecil Hamilton Bolton, first lieutenant World War II, Echo Company, four hundred and thirteenth Infantry, one hundred and fourth Infantry Division. US Army, november second, nineteen forty four, Mark River, Holland. As leader of the Weapons Platoon of Echo Company four hundred and thirteenth Infantry on the night of second, november nineteen forty four. He fought gallantly in a pitched battle which followed the crossing of the Mark River in Holland. When two machine guns pinned down his company, he tried to eliminate with mortar fire their grazing fire, which was inflicting serious casualties and preventing the company's advance from an area rocked by artillery shelling. In the moonlight, it was impossible for him to locate accurately the enemy's camouflage positions, but he continued to direct fire until wounded severely in the legs and rendered unconscious by a German shell. When he recovered consciousness, he instructed his unit and then crawled to a forward rifle platoon position. Taking a two man bazooka team on his voluntary mission, he advanced chest deep in chilling water along a canal toward one enemy machine gun. While the bazooka team covered him, he approached alone to within fifteen yards of the hostile emplacement in a house. He charged the remaining distance and killed the two gunners with hand grenades. Returning to his men, he led them through intense fire over open ground to assault the second German machine gun. An enemy sniper who tried to block the way was dispatched and the trio pressed on. When discovered by the machine gun crew and subjected to direct fire, First Lieutenant Bolton killed one of the three gunners with carbine fire, and his two comrades shot the others. Continuing to disregard his wounds, he led the Bazooka team toward an eighty eight millimeter artillery piece which was having telling effect on the American ranks, and approached once more through icy canal water until he can dimly make out the gun's silhouette. Under his fire direction, the two soldiers knocked out the enemy weapon with rockets. On the way back to his own lines, he was again wounded. To prevent his men being longer subjected to deadly fire, he refused aid and ordered them back to safety, painfully crawling after them until he reached his lines where he collapsed. First Lieutenant Bolton's heroic assaults in the face of vicious fire, his inspiring leadership and continued aggressiveness even those suffering from serious wounds contributed in large measure to overcoming strong enemy resistance and made it possible for his battalion to reach its objective. Accredited to Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama, not awarded posthumously, presented August 23rd, 1945 at the White House by President Harry S. Truman, born October 7, 1908, Crawfordville, Wakula County, Florida, died January 22nd, 1965, San Antonio, Texas, buried Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, P Tac C, Tac 22, Tac J, San Antonio, Texas, United States.

SPEAKER_01:

Cecil Hamilton, Bolton. So our Christmas message this for today comes from President Herbert Kruger again.

SPEAKER_00:

This is Christmas Message to the American People, broadcast nationwide over NBC and CBS radio, December 25th, 1931. My fellow countrymen, once more we come to the season when the hearts of all mankind turn to the little town of Bethlehem and to the child who was born there 2,000 years ago. The message that came to the shepherds on the Judean Hills, peace on earth to men of goodwill, rings down the centuries with undiminished power, even in these days of anxiety and distress. In this Christmas season, we are passing through a time of grave concern. Millions of our people are unemployed, many are in want. Yet in the midst of these hardships, the American spirit of mutual helpfulness and of courage has risen above every difficulty. We have accepted the task of caring for our own, with a devotion and generosity never surpassed in our history. The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of unselfish service, of kindness, of faith in our fellow man, of confidence in the future. That spirit is stronger in America tonight than any material hardship. It is the real wealth of our nation, and it will carry us through to better days. To those who are in sorrow or in need, I send a special word of sympathy and hope. To the children of America, I send the assurance that the Christmas star still shines, and that the Christmas spirit will not fail them. To our churches, our charities, and our countless volunteers who are bringing comfort to the distress, I extend the gratitude of the whole nation. May the light that shone in Bethlehem on that first Christmas night shine into every American home this year. May it strengthen our faith, renew our courage, and guide us forward to the restoration of prosperity and happiness. I wish you all a blessed Christmas.

SPEAKER_01:

Herbert Hoover, the White House, December twenty fifth, nineteen thirty one. At this point there's a little note here I looked up.

SPEAKER_00:

About a quarter the unemployment rate was at about twenty-five percent.

SPEAKER_01:

That's pretty astounding to folks. So uh closing comments.

SPEAKER_00:

You go back to the detox message. If I can, real quick. Autumn spread 'em out of the Epic Times. Pretty good article if you get a chance, but try, folks, to reduce, to help reduce that average that we read for the American people, for the people in your own nation, wherever you are around the world listening from seven hours plus of screen time each day. Even if you just start with three minutes here and there, right? You go back to scripture again. You go to Revelation 14, 12. This means that God's holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus. There's a caveat there, folks, we have a responsibility to care for the widow and the orphan, the poor and the needy. So sometimes that persecution that we have to deal with, sometimes that pain and that suffering that we have to deal with look not just like laying down and not doing anything, but look like our Medal of Honor recipient today, Cecil Hamilton Bolton, and suffering through icy water, hunger, cold, sleepless, to defend the poor and the needy, the widow and the orphan, women and children, the least of these. Sometimes that means offering up as a woman your husband or son or brother. Right? So just a little caveat there. Don't forget Mr. Bolton and so many like him.

SPEAKER_01:

And then this Christmas message from President Hoover.

SPEAKER_00:

You go back and you think about how many people were distressed at this point in the depression. And you hear him talk about the spirit of Christmas is the spirit of unselfish service, of kindness, of faith in our fellow man, of confidence in the future. You look at the hardships, right? Uh he says we have accepted the task of caring for our own with a devotion and generosity never surpassed. The welfare state has hurt us in a lot of ways, folks. One of probably the worst is the fact that we try and pawn off our responsibilities to care for those in our own communities, our own schools, our neighbors, our nation as a whole. We try and pawn that off to the government and pretend like it's the government's responsibility. Pretend like that they're doing a good job at it to begin with, anyway. That's our responsibility, folks, as individuals, as churches, as followers of Christ, to care for those in need. And you just remember at this time, too, how he kind of closed here, may the light that shone in Bethlehem on that first Christmas night shine into every American home this year, strengthen our faith, renew our courage, and guide us forward. If you are looking for a family-friendly middle grade read, kind of like Narnia or The Hobbit, Percy Jackson or Harry Potter, if you would check out Countryside, I would appreciate it. And if you enjoy it, the first or the second book in the series so far, if you'd leave a review for one or both of them, I would be very grateful for that too. Those help immensely. And if you feel like you're getting something out of the podcast with you and your friends or family, whoever you're listening to, if you have three or four or five dollars a month that you can spare to donate to the podcast, there's a web page on the Buzz Sprout website for the podcast where you can set up that monthly donation.

SPEAKER_01:

And I would be very grateful for that also.

SPEAKER_00:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever.

unknown:

Amen.

SPEAKER_00:

God bless y'all. God bless your families, God bless your marriages if you're married. God bless your nation wherever you are around the world listening. God bless America. We'll talk to you all again real soon, folks. Looking forward to it.