We are coming unglued.
“Jon, you need to be positive.”
“I’m positive that we are coming unglued.”
We have an addiction that we are ignoring, dismissing and laughing about; “Oh, it’s nothing really - I mean everyone does this.”
We used to laugh about “FB stalking people’s lives.” But now, we can’t stop. Don’t believe me? Try it.
We are driven by desire.
The deceiver knows this and does everything he can to supply objects that substitute for our worship, devotion, intimacy and trust in God. He wants to distract us, redirect us, and entice us with immediacy. And we are a culture that worships convenience and flattery.
So, we post, and tag and comment and receive the same and justify it as interaction and community; we become engrossed in our device and can’t maintain any sense of personal direction. If we listened to the discussion, it might smack us in the face. It hit me hard.
The strings being pulled are the same ones we felt as kids. “What if I’m not invited to the party? I will have missed the fun, and I won’t get the inside jokes. It leaves us feeling rejected and our DESIRE is paramount. We have to feed it - the “attention engineers” know our responses and offer the gateway.
I have a friend who has dealt with addictions of various kinds for decades. He would tell you the story of losing his family, career, possessions, relationships, health and even faith. Some of you know him - he has been a tremendous influence in my life, because his story is real and he doesn’t hide it. But he fights it and now for a long time - he’s winning.
He would tell you his renewed faith and coming to know Jesus Christ in a real way has set him free to live fully. No, he doesn’t have everything one can have - but he would show that he has all he needs and lives well and has quality relationships that previously he lost or would have destroyed.
I recently told him that I was free of one of mine - Facebook. He saw that - that’s why he called.
For over a week now, I have to talk to you, or text you, or email you, or write to you to know what is happening in your life. I'm now free of worrying about and comparing my life and struggles with yours. Yes, I’ve given up being able to see your circle of friends and given up being a fly on the wall looking behind the scenes of your life and the lives of others - in some cases pure strangers.
Instead, I want to cultivate more of what matters. I want to fight the good fight. I’m rediscovering what that means.
James 4:1-6
“Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.”
We are living in times where we have to decide what has authority in our lives - all of us get to choose that. I pray that we can all do that with renewed discernment.
Romans 12:1-2