One at a Time, Please!
Sometimes I love social media. I can watch a great baseball highlight seconds after it happens. I can watch baby pandas do somersaults. I can read or listen to profound messages from leaders I admire. I can be made aware of exigent [needing urgent attention ~Ed.] news, such as the recent elementary school shooting, within minutes of the event. But that last example was a reminder to me how social media can be a real problem.
When I have control of what enters my brain-space, things generally go well. I listen to people I know and trust, and I read books and articles that ooze holiness. But one problem with social media is that information snowballs quickly. All I really wanted to know was a few details of what happened in Uvalde, TX, a town not terribly far from where I grew up.
But (maybe this happened to you, too?) then I was exposed to all kinds of unwanted and unwelcome opinions. Even baseball teams I follow on Twitter were demanding changes to federal law. I don’t want the second baseman’s views on gun control, I want to know why he he’s batting under .200!
What began as helpful messages, such as, “Please pray!” turned into criticisms and finger-pointing. It became a cacophony of comments, like what I hear when every kid at the dinner table is asking for something at the same time. Maybe they are asking politely, but I wouldn’t know because the noise is driving me crazy. One at a time, please!
One of my kids (during a rare quiet moment) quoted me a verse he learned at youth group, Proverbs 18:24, “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” How wonderful to hear the voice of a trusted, reliable friend in the middle of the noise! And how ruinous it can be when your “companions” are journalists, politicians, big-league managers, comedians, distant relatives, high school classmates, preachers in other time zones, etc. All of them may have great things to say from time to time. But, seriously. One at a time, please!
Another favorite is Proverbs 27:14, “If a man loudly blesses his neighbor in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.” Even those trusted, reliable voices can feel like a curse in times when a still, small whisper is needed. Just ask Elijah in 1 Kings 18 and 19.
And that is part of the reason we created this blog for Foundry Church. We want to be a still, small whisper for those we love rather than a curse. You, dear reader, have a friend closer than a brother, and we want to point you to Him.
I can’t promise I’ll be off social media for long, but I’m sure enjoying this quiet time of reflection while I write. The only voice in my ear right now is God’s word, and it feels like I’m back on that Caribbean island!
And since I know you can’t resist, here are those baby pandas you probably need right now:
