Simply Renovated

 

I am FOUND

REDEEMED

REMADE TRANSFORMED

and TREASURED

 

 

 

I am not perfect and I don't claim to be.  I try my hardest to live a life pleasing to Christ and I know many other friends and people who do the same and we all.look.different!

 

This past month some big things (big to me) have happened in my life that have caused anger, fear, worry, anxiety...feeling unloved.

 

These events have caused me to go through my facebook feed and limit the access to our personal account.  Facebook has left me speechless this past month.  There are literally few things I love about it.  My fitness groups, my Bible Study group and my photography page.  That's it.  There is such a negative effect, I feel, on our society due to social media.  I feel like through it we have become a society that is constantly on the defense.  Constantly looking for a debate and argument and because of social media...our society has become even more self centered than it was...myself included.  I often hear our pastor talk about us being obsessed with being "liked"...even on facebook.  It's true!  I once had someone email me this, "why don't you like any of my pictures or comment on them?"

And we're constantly on the defense.  I can't post about my personal life without someone getting offended...yes...that is true as well.  Where did we get in our minds that it's our "right" to see other people's status's and comment whatever you like on them without taking the other person's feelings into account.  In my opinion...we should feel "honored" to be able to see what other people are sharing...they have made themselves vulnerable and we are quick to jump on facebook and tear them down.  I am friends with someone and our views differ greatly but she is trying to live her life for Jesus.  Her living for Jesus looks differently than mine.  When the World Vision drama happened she simply stood up for the children that were dropped and may have expressed some views that again, differ from mine, but never would I consider going to her page like others did and tell her that she is not a Christian.

 

Ann Voskamp writes this, "Feel thanks and it's absolutely impossible to feel angry.  We can only experience one emotion at a time.  And we get to choose - which emotion do we want to feel?"

I decided to go through my friend list and still am because those emotions listed above...anger, fear, worry, anxiety... those are not fruits of the spirit.  PEACE, patience, KINDNESS, goodness,  SELF-CONTROL...those are what I strive to have in my life and if there are people on social media that might cause me in the slightest way to have otherwise then I need to begin with them.  If I want to use something like the social media to keep my family and loved ones updated on my personal life then that is my decision.  It is also my decision to decide who sees what goes on in my personal life.  Does this mean I hate you? ABSOLUTELY NOT!  Does this mean I don't want to be friends...NOT AT ALL.  This simply means...that you.don't.know.me. This means that just because we are facebook friends and have reconnected since our 12 years out of high school does not mean I know you or you know me.  I felt this place is not a safe place to pour out my personal life.  I felt stress, worry and anxiety.  The biggest difference I've noticed since facebook? The loss of Joy.   And I have found nothing more powerful to steal my joy than stress, worry and anxiety.  And not only is it a joy-stealer but the way I respond to it could be sin.  So why not....why not rid myself of it.  It was a very difficult thing for me to do...going through my friend list and saying a "facebook goodbye" to them, but it also allowed me to trust God in this sense.  Trust God that I am trying to live righteously and that I am trusting Him to help me return to joy.  Sometimes, too often I don't want to muster the energy.  Stress and anxiety seem easier.  Easier to let the mind run wild with the worry. 

 

I couldn't agree more with this list I found about how social media has had a negative effect on our society.

 

A false sense of connection:  social media sites make it more difficult for us to distinguish between the meaningful relationships we foster in the real world and the numerous casual relationships formed through social media. By focusing so much of our time and energy on these less meaningful relationships...I fear we will lose our most important connections.

 

Cyber Bullying: I've expressed this before and there are two ends I believe.  One where there is actual bullying going on and two where it might not seem like bullying but in fact is.  It's easier to say horrible, hurtful things to a screen and forget there is an actual person receiving it...an actual heart.  Cyber bullying has resulted in suicide.  And in less dramatic cases it results in the emotions above, anxiety, fear, worry, stress, frustration and anger.

 

Less productivity:  Pretty sure I don't need to expound on this one :)

 

Point is...it hit me hard over the head last week when I "un-friended" one person (horrible thing to do in today's society!!!) that I DO NOT HAVE TO BE FRIENDS WITH EVERYONE ON FACEBOOK! If you want to be friends...then please foster a real relationship with me...in real-life.  Because everything on facebook...well it's almost not real.