My wife and I had a discussion about Twitter, Facebook, and blogging last evening, and we share differing views about all of this technology. Annette would much rather you just pick up the phone and give her a call if there is something you would like to share with her. I, on the other hand, find great benefits in quick, to the point texts if there isn't a need to go into deep explanation about the subject. I will say that Annette was not at all interested in Facebook until I set her account up for her and she got back in touch with many old friends. Now, she enjoys seeing what's going on in their lives...most of the time.
Our discussion really got me thinking about the level our society will go to in order to stay in touch. We want to make sure that we are heard, even if we're just sharing what we're fixing for dinner or what we're watching on television. I never considered myself "one of those people," but I must confess that I AM "one of those people." I have a Blackberry with unlimited texting, I Blog (though not as regularly as I would like), I just began using Twitter, and my Facebook is synched to go directly to my Blackberry (so I don't miss out on what you are having for dinner!). Wow!
What is speaking to my heart in all of this is the fact that so many people are trying to be heard, so many are trying to look into the lives of others, so many are "communicating"...yet so many are hurting. So many are lonely, comparing the Social Network status of another with their life and feeling that their life has no meaning compared to those they follow. Society has led many to believe the lie that if their Social Networking status defines them, when, in reality, the true definition of who we are comes from a much deeper purpose.
Proverbs 18:24 says, "A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." (ESV) In other words, we can all kinds of "friends," but not everyone I view on Facebook, not everyone I follow on Twitter, and not every Blogger I read is my friend (no matter what Facebook calls them!). But, as the verse says, there is a Friend who is closer than a brother...Christ Jesus! You don't become friends through a Social Network, but rather, "...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." (Romans 10:9-10, ESV)
Seek a relationship with Him first, and then put all of the "stuff" of this world behind Him. Once you establish a relationship with Him, make communication with Him a priority over ALL other communications!
3 comments:
Great point PJ! If people would converse with God like they converse with their acquaintances on facebook, we'd see differences in the lives of believers.
Amen to that and glad to see you updated your blog I have been watching it. The Price's
I like FB because you can see what's going on with people and pray for them
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