Philip and I watch "The Social Network" the other night. Pretty interesting movie.
What struck me was the Ecclesiastes vibe that ran through the whole thing.
Here is a guy (Mark Zuckerberg) who is brilliant and creative. Who worked hard to create Facebook. And made a boatload of dough doing it.
And how useless it all is.
Has FB contributed to our prayerfulness? Brought people to Christ? Fed the hungry? Healed the sick? Clothed the naked? Placed the orphan in a family?
Nope.
Now, I do use FB. I enjoy catching up with friends and talking, even virtually, with folks who don't wet their pants.
But I hope my life matters for more than that. That it is more than a striving after the wind. Because in the end, this world is just a breath. And Mark Zuckerberg's billions and my more modest thousands and the poor man's pennies will all be gone. And all that will remain is what we have done for and through Christ.
Monday, February 14, 2011
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5 comments:
So true, Tamara. I have been increasingly disenchanted with Facebook because of their privacy stuff (constantly!), but more importantly because it just seems so....empty. There's nothing sinful about catching up with friends and I am only online with my phone while nursing. But Facebook time is certainly not life or world-changing.
I respectfully disagree, or at least have a different perspective on social media.
I have actually met people "online" through games (weird, I know) to whom I am actively ministering the love of God to. I have been able to connect to our missionaries in India, and provide encouragement, as well as to pray for their needs, in real time.
I have a friend, whose daughter is awaiting a heart transplant, who is able to update hundreds of prayer warriors immediately when her daughter is in crisis, and I have been changed by seeing her love for God as well as her struggles.
Just like gluttony, too much of a good thing lavished on ourselves for our own self-satisfying means is a bad thing, but it's the user that determines a things usefulness, not necessarily the tool itself.
I like how Israel Houghton puts it in one of his songs, where he talks about how the apostles would have used all the things we have at our disposal to communicate Him to everyone they could reach.
Oh, I agree that FB can be used for good, and many people do use it for spiritual purposes. But I was speaking more to Mark Zuckerberg's achievements. Given his immense talent, couldn't he have created something for God's glory instead of the world's amusement? He has made himself a castle here, but I wonder what awaits him in the future. Is the life he has built satisfying? Or is it just dust in the wind?
Well, I have yet to watch the film, but I do have strong opinions about the use of technology toward good, and I affirm that Facebook has had a tremendous positive impact upon our ability to be in the sphere of friends and acquaintances with whom we can be a constant witness for Christ. Even the Pope has declared the necessity for the faithful to utilize various technologies and social media to reach out and share the gospel.
That notwithstanding, no one questions the motives or the actions of persons throughout history who have dedicated themselves toward the pursuit of and who have achieved great innovations for the benefit of mankind, even if it has consumed their time and ambition to do so. We are all to strive for excellence in what we do - and yes, of course, for us individually, if we are without God, it is all for nothing in the end. What greatness could ever be achieved in this life without the effort of some who are willing to give themselves wholly to it? Our Lord says in the parable of the unjust steward that it would be good for the children of Light to be half as shrewd,resourceful and dedicated in their pursuit of Godly things as the children of the world are in their pursuit of temporal things.
So yeah, I guess I should have been more clear.
Are there some good things happening on FB? Yes.
Are there a lot of people wasting time on FB? Yes.
Are all the things of this world that MZ persued in the movie going to pass away? Yes.
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