I’m sitting here and feeling quite sad. The Internet and Smartphones have had a huge impact on our world. It took me some years to realise that the Internet is not a reliable source of information. It’s not that you can’t trust the accuracy of that information. It’s the fact that it’s like Pandora’s Box. It contains everything that can tempt the heart of a man, or woman, and I can see the effect it is having on our youth, our whanau and even wider society in general.
A decade ago there was still what I would call a strong centrist perspective in society. It was visible on social media. Twitter for example had a strong middle ground but with the advent of smartphones and games like Fortnight. The middle ground has mostly evaporated. People are thinking on the extremes, right versus left, red versus green. It’s breaking society into sects and every group is competing with others for the power and the limelight.
I think the thing that is breaking my heart is that the Church is being impacted by the Pandora's Box that is the Internet. You know Christ Jesus said in Matthew chapter 24 verse 12 ”And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” I see the love of Christians growing cold and it’s because of the lawlessness that’s in society but there is a greater cause even than that. The Internet is drowning them in information and it’s impacting their relationships with Christ Jesus. They are becoming lost in the confusion of ideas, concepts and are getting caught in the torrent of distraction that comes with living on the Internet.
Of course all of this is bad news for all concerned but it is terrible news for the Church in our time because it is destroying the credibility of the Church and individual Christians in the eyes of the World. Jesus pointed to the issue with this type of situation in Matthew chapter 5 verse 13. “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
Most Christians who are involved in what they see as a ministry to warn the World of the dangers of the coming New World Order or the Covid Vaccine will not agree with what I’m saying here. But my point is that the Internet has done a very good job of radicalising them. They have become very extreme without even realising it. So, if you have reached the point of no longer being credible in the eyes of other people. Have you not lost your saltiness?
I have been blown away by the Kiwi’s who think we are part of the United States of America. They are often treating the NZ Bill of Rights as though it were the American Constitution. This is almost laughable in Aotearoa because when the Bill of Rights was adopted, with little fanfare at the time I might add. The vast majority of Christians thought it was an instrument of the United Nations foisted on us by a secular administration. Which it was! There wasn’t great trust for it at the time from other New Zealander’s either.
The number of Christian’s bleating about their rights being trampled under foot with the Covid debacle is equally humorous. Combined with their lament over apparent infringements of their right to bear arms after the ChristiChurch Terror Incident. I mean you can no longer protect yourself with an automatic weapon. Did any Kiwi ever protect themselves with a gun of any kind? We have always, for the most part, been a peaceful Christian nation.
Christians in times of peace carry the gospel not guns. We share the Word of God and our Christian values and when times are good even those who don’t follow Christ Jesus adhere to a form of righteousness. Guns don’t promote peace and safety and you only have to look toward the United States to see that as being the case.
As to the freedom mantra. Who really has freedom when the Prince of Darkness is the Ruler of this World. We are born into slavery to sin. We are educated to become useful hard working citizens and we spend most of our life doing exactly that. Life isn’t fair either, a privileged few are born into indecent amounts of wealth and live an elite life of power and indifference to their fellow man, or woman. They never have to lift a finger to work if they don’t want to. Those without wealth just have to accept that this is how it is? In the West under Capitalism we are deceived into feeling that we are free whereas, in China under Socialism there is little doubt that the authorities control your life. In neither system is there true freedom.
Most Christians would agree that knowing and understanding the gospel will set you free. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This is the truth and the truth will set you free. John 8:31-32 “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
What it finally comes down to is that for Christians to be effective they need to focus on the Word of God, spend time in Communion with God in prayer and seek to Walk in the Spirit. Spending time on the Internet generates a lot of fear and draws you away from spending time in Word and in Communion with the Lord in prayer. Actually after thinking this out I’m feeling a lot better now. You know what you need to do and so do I.
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