Living Well In A Technology Centered World Pt. 2: Rejecting Invisibility

 

Job 24:16

“In the dark, they dig into their houses, they shut themselves up by day; they do not know the light.”

On the Internet, it is easy to hide behind a mask of anonymity. We are just strangers alone in a dark room floating around in cyberspace with no one holding us accountable for the things that we choose to see, take part in, and say… uh, I mean type.

It is easy at church to have all the right answers, to say the right things, smiling at just the right moment, and to pray that amazing prayer in front of everyone. It is easy – when others are watching, but what about when they are not? A wise author once said that you reveal far more of your true character in isolation than in a community.

Ephesians 5:11

“Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead expose them.”

When it is just you, your computer, and the Internet, who are you? How do you behave? What do you do? Do you participate in hurtful gossip and rumors? Do you read things that you shouldn’t be reading? Do you play video games that have mature ratings and encourage violence? Do you engage in immoral behaviors and dishonoring conduct?

Far too many people hide out in the dark corners of the internet, digging deeper into their secret sins and leaving Christianity far behind. This is because people refuse to put on their visibility cloaks and to be open and honest about their lives with their brother and sisters in Christ.

They use technology to satisfy their flesh instead of serving the Lord and His Kingdom.

Dear friend, you need — no you must reject the invisibility that the comes so easily in the digital world, and instead accept and put on visibility. You need to live the same life that you live offline as you do online. You need to be the same person behind the screen as you are away from it.

You need to have people who will hold you accountable and you need to listen.

Proverbs 28:13

“He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.”