I am finding the more and more I run after God, the more and more I have to give up. It's a directly proportionate ratio that bites my butt every time. The newest victim of conviction is the all-too-infamous Facebook. I've grown so accustomed to the FB culture that I have proudly become one of its citizens. I check it at least seven times everyday, and spend on average 1 .4 hours each weekday, 3+ hours each Saturday and Sunday.
In the course of these three years I have obtained over 1,100 friends--776 of which I maintained right before I left (over 430 of which were associated with or met through YWAM bases)--824 photos of me were posted/tagged, 16 albums consisting of 945 photos, and well over 2,000 statuses updated. And somewhere in this schmorsgabored of online networking I was "living it up."
It scares me to think how many hours of life were wasted, how many opportunities thrown down the drain because I was "too busy seeing what Hugh Laurie or the cast of my favorite tv shows, or the one girl from high school who annoys the heck out of me but has cool photos, have to say about "life". Granted, yes, it can be said I used mine to try and "change the world", but to what extent am I changing anything? Sure I can make someone feel better or make their day in 38 words or less, but am I really impacting their lives for the better? Doubtful.
During this past week of school, attending Christ for the Nations Institute, our speaker, Pr. Damon Thompson, challenged us by saying something that nagged at the back of my mind for days, "If Facebook is pulling you away from your relationship or your time with God, cut it off. Now."
He didn't say "fast", or "take a break", he said "cut it off." I've done "media fasts" in the past where I gave up Facebook and other electronics, but they never disciplined me to put God before Facebook. I am eating my own words with my previous post "Jesus said, 'Come Tweet Me & I will make You Facebook Friends of Men'" *. I am "following" Jesus' posts, but I am not following His heart. His heart is not to reach the world typing fancy, great messages on a social networking site. Nowhere in the Bible is it mentioned that Jesus followed the culture of the world. And sadly, America is reaching a point where the church has become so consumed in reaching the world that it has slowly adopted the ways of the world.
I am not of the world. I live in it, but I should still have a distinct difference that screams "I am [Jesus] FREAKY." Yes, I can use Facebook to witness to the 38% of my friends who are not Christian. But I cannot be very effective if I am not walking the talk known as "statuses". Most of the world refuses to follow the words of Christians because they don't see a difference between the two. We are not loud enough, in their faces enough, or loving enough.
I am not leaving Facebook to become holier than thou or even get attention. I don't want attention, because as soon as I get it, I will let Pride bite me in the butt and be tempted to take the glory for myself. I am doing this because God has told me, flat out, "Delete Facebook and start following me." He told me very clearly, and quite sternly as a Father who disciplines their kids, "Cut it off. Get rid of it." And I know it was His voice because I began to fight Him. I had the audacity to cross my arms, stamp my foot, frown, and say, "No." "Lauren, you have to get rid of it." "No, I'm not deleting it. I'll just fast. Again..." "Fasting is not good enough this time. You can fast for two months, but you will have learned nothing. You will go back to your old ways, to your old Dead Man and read the statuses of those who don't matter, and of things that will one day pass away, before you are willing to read the Manual of Life. You will read man's ignorant, opinionated words before you read my clear, life-saving Truths. Cut it off, now."
As I sat there during worship throwing a tantrum, fighting borderline tears, it dawned on me that Facebook has become an idol in my life. I was reading the statuses of "I hate it when my Hoodie strings become uneven" before reading something as simple and quick as John 3:16. I had built a high place in my temple and thew God Almighty off for "Facebook God". The Bible speaks very clearly about idols, and says we must purge ourselves completely. It never says fast, or forget, or change the password, it says "get rid of them all." We read of those kings in the Bible who fell to their/and others' idols, as a result their kingdoms fell to their enemies. I don't want to fall to the Enemy because I was too stubborn to delete a pastime.
That, dear friends, is why I must delete and deactivate it. Maybe I will be back, someday, maybe a month from now, maybe a year, maybe never. But the Lord is jealous and Just, and has made it very clear that until I can discipline myself to put Him first in everything I say and do, I cannot have any other distractions.
....
If you were encouraged by what I wrote on Facebook, I have a challenge for you: Write your own encouraging, witty statuses to lift up your brothers and sisters who see your walls. While I am honored that many have said, "You're the only reason I stay on Facebook, I love reading what you post!" "Your posts always make me smile", "You were one of the few people of my friends that posted positive things..."
Why should I be the only one? Why can't you do what I did?
Three years ago when I first joined Facebook my statuses were 2 % positive, 0.5 % Jesus-oriented, 80.5 % random, and 17 % negative. As I grew closer to God my posts grew more encouraging, but I never really saw how effect Facebook can be as an evangelism tool until this past April when a speaker at Acquire the Fire challenged us to use it as a means to reach the world.
It's not hard. Find a verse that you find encouraging, ask Jesus for a revelation, and BAM! You, dear one, have an encouraging, uplifting-Jesus-filled status that can do for your friends what I have been blessed to do for you.
If you need to reach me, you can email me at nerdieblonde@gmail.com , or sign your email up to be updated via this blog.
God bless you all as you continue your own journeys of faith with the Father, I pray He blesses you as you remain obedient to Him as I try to do the same. Prayers, as always, are appreciated...
"Watch yourself! Don't forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Revere the Lord your God, serve him, and take your oaths in his name! Don't follow other gods, those gods of the people around you--because the Lord your God who is with you and among you, is a passionate God..."
-Deut. 6:12-15
The Beloved,
Saint
Link to blog "Jesus Said, 'Come Tweet Me & I will make You Facebook Friends of Men" : http://laurenisasincitysaint.blogspot.com/2012/04/you-cant-tweet-jesus-pin-bible-or-share.html
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