Reading through Facebook these days is a depressing
place.
One post is about the election. The next is about a new shooting in
America. The next is a complaining rant
about the neighbors, the poor service at the grocery store, jobs, kids,
teachers, or any other minor problem that becomes a giant issue. It all finishes with a news video about a
girl getting raped, or an update on the violence in the Middle East, or a music
video that just supports all of the things just mentioned. And the cycle just repeats. Over, and over, and over again.
This is the stuff we fill our minds with every day. We spend so much time keeping in touch with
the news, the election results, the latest music and trends, and it plunges us
into this perpetual cycle of darkness, depression, and hopelessness. When was the last time you felt hopeful from
reading election news? When was the last
time you felt uplifted or morally encouraged from reading through
Facebook? For me, it has been quite a
while, and I think you might say the same thing.
Yet I still continue to spend time every day reading through
Facebook, searching local news stations, or listening to new music. Why do I keep plunging myself deeper and
deeper into the hopelessness of the world, when there is such a better way
available?
Every person is looking for something in his or her
life. Each person also looks at
different places to find that one thing.
Each presidential candidate wants fame, or popularity, or money. Each teenager wants to fit in and know the
new trends. Each adult wants to be
informed and safe in a world of rising danger.
We all want something out of life.
What determines if we get it is the place we look to find it.
If you want hope, look no further than the word of God. Promises that people cannot keep, He
can. Situations that people are
powerless to fix, He can. He is the
definition of all hope, all truth, all purity, and all things good in the
world. And as we all search to find
these good things in life, it’s a shame that His Word, the obvious choice, is
often the last place we look.
Being away from home is hard. I want to be informed of what is happening in
my country, my hometown, and my family.
But I’m learning that Facebook and CNN are not the best way to keep in
touch. The darkness that resounds from
these forms of media are astounding, and they distract from living a life of
purity and hope that God calls us to.
So my challenge for you: read the Word every day before you
search Facebook. Before you read the
next election news. Before you fill your
mind with darkness, fill it with joy. It
might be a challenge for you, especially if Facebook is a big part of your life
currently. But as we continue on this
journey together, we will find a hope and fulfillment that this world cannot
offer. And who knows? When we continue to learn more and know more
about the heart of the Father, the things of this world may just fade in
importance.
Tomorrow, before I read Facebook, I will read the Word. I challenge you to do the same. And maybe, just maybe, through a small group
of us focusing on the good things in life, we can change the culture of our
communities to point them more to the heart and love of Him, the one thing people
are truly looking for anyway.
Luke Forshey
February 27, 2016
