My Cable Addiction

Recently I fell prey to an ugly addiction. It tore me from my family, cost me money I didn't have, and left me in a nearly catatonic state for hours at a time. No, it wasn’t drugs. Not quite. I was addicted to cable TV.

I was primed for the addiction. I grew up without TV and during my bachelor days I subsisted on "poverty vision," which included whatever channels I could get with bunny ears and clever furniture arrangement. Finally, as a married man, I was ready for the real thing.

"Come on, honey." I said. "It will just be for the playoffs."

Well, the playoffs came and went. But I had become one with the couch, flipping through channels incessantly. And this wasn’t just basic cable. I went for the full package. A few times my frustrated wife snatched the remote from my hand—how dare she!—and I went scrambling after it like a skid row junkie. I had a problem. There was only one way out.

I cancelled it.

Cable was stealing time from my family and God. Prayer and devotions were replaced with ESPN and Law and Order. Most people don’t abuse TV like that. But I think we can all identify areas where our time can be better spent. When something threatens our family and spiritual life we need to nip it in the bud.