joyindestructible

A glittering net of virtual technology has draped itself over us and binds us all together. A new kind of world is born; part reality, part fantasy, filled with all the hopes and dreams of humanity and therefore, rife with sin. The virtual world is us and we are it. It is the collective consciousness of humankind and to live in the modern world, it is required of us to participate. If we give ourselves over to it, we are consumed by it and lose ourselves in a kind of mind-melding madness; a delusional dream that each of has a part in directing. All thinking people are concerned about it but turning away from it isn’t an option. None of get to pick the time we are born in. Our only choice is to live out the life set before us and if we are to survive intact, we must learn to embrace the digital age and resist it at the same time. The alternate choice is fringe isolation or a decent into madness, and often both of these choices are combined as one. Life, love, and joy aren’t virtual but virtual technology, when employed with balance, can enhance our lives.

Moderation is the rule of thumb in all things and everything taken to an extreme is harmful. I am speaking this to a society in which I Phones have become an appendage of the mind. The way we relate to one another has been completely altered by them. The next step is a chip placed on our brains that would make the internet part of us. I wonder if we will really go so far as to surrender our individuality to technology but when I see how addicted people are to their I Phones I sadly, receive my answer. I also, spend much more time than is good for me, online. I have seen others who suffer from what I’ve termed as “Internet Madness” and I have vowed not to let it happen to me and I set boundaries to prevent it but sometimes, I also get sucked in. I sometimes, forget that the people I meet online are partly, as they present themselves and partly, as I imagine them to be. I am not likely to ever know them in reality. That doesn’t prevent me from forming relationships because it is natural for human beings to relate. The people I converse with and share with become important to me. I sometimes, become important to some of them but what they imagine me to be and who I am in reality will never quite mesh. Virtual relationships aren’t real but only, digital imitations of the relationships we dream of. When reality makes its way in and the dream is revealed as false, people are disappointed and hurt. Real life can’t be lived by virtual technology but real people experience real pain in the virtual world.

Lonely, isolated people are the most vulnerable to the temptation of replacing real life with a virtual, online life. The fantasy element can make it even more appealing than the drudgery of life in the work-a-day world. I know what I speak of because my health isolates me and one of the reasons I write and self-publish is because I want daily connections with other people. I try to convey who I am in an honest, forth-right way but I’m human and I am sure that how I present myself isn’t entirely, genuine. I have no control over how others might imagine me. I want the words I contribute to this melding of human minds that we refer to as the Net, to be filled with the joy of Jesus, positive words of life. That doesn’t mean I’m perfect or that I live a perfect life. I’m not a model of anything but a sinful woman saved by grace. My joy is not a virtual creation designed to garner a following. My joy is genuine and living; a product of my very real relationship with Jesus. Sometimes, I get myself in trouble when I look for human companionship online when I should be content to rest in Him. I never mean to mislead, disappoint, or hurt through any of the words I write. I don’t want to present myself as anything other than a woman saved from a sinful life and given a new life in Christ. I am nothing, He is everything and the joy I have in Him sustains me in every kind of suffering, whether that suffering comes from the real world or the virtual world. He is the all in all.

This post took a turn other than what I intended but what I’d like everyone who reads it to take from it is this: Jesus is real and the joy that comes by faith in Him is real and available to all who believe and trust in Him. In Him we can find the balance we need to survive our time in history and not be overcome by it. Dear reader, stay grounded in the faith and don’t be swept away by strong delusion. Cling to Jesus and have faith because He is returning soon!