do you know how easy it is to be deceived? very. all you have to do is glance at a beautiful lie.
the world is filled with beautiful lies. we post things online that look amazing and then go back to our truly messy lives laden with brokenness.
the people that know me irl know this about me: that i greatly dislike social media. which is actually really funny because i love talking to people. i give way more thought into responses than most, i've been called goofy and honest and my default in every day interactions is cracking jokes because the world is way too serious and maybe just maybe it's my defense mechanism against the awkward silence. (or maybe i'm just naturally witty?). these days, i tolerate the nonsense that is social media because i cannot deny that it's the 21st century’s telephone and airmail.
back to the beautiful lies...it's easy to write something on a blog and sound like all the other blogs by identifying problems and offering half-hearted "general" solutions, but this is a cancer in our society that no one really wants to address. the cancer being that we don't like the truth anymore.
the truth is, by definition, grounded on reality, on facts, on what's happened. when Jesus said He IS Truth, He meant He alone is the embodiment of the fact, the reality, that God created the world, that He IS love, and GOD LOVES PEOPLE. the entire life of Jesus exemplifies this fact, this reality, in His teachings, His attitude, His words, His actions, all the way to His death and the reason for it. the truth that two destinations await each of us--eternal death or eternal life--is also embodied in Jesus.
but we've been so good at telling the lie that there is nothing wrong with us that needs to be changed that we deny the solution coincidentally when we deny the pointed problem.
the truth is: take heed lest you fall.
the truth is: how you treat others is indicative of how you feel about God.
the truth is: the most vulnerable part of us is the most silent almost every day because we don't want anyone to know the true us.
the truth is: i don't know what the point is of this blog post other than, it's really hard to stay strong and be yourself when your body is sick and all you want to do is stay in bed and do nothing, but choosing to stay sick, within the center of the cancer, is the enemy's biggest lie of all.
the world today calls it anxiety, depression…mental illness. but the root of all mental sickness is spiritual. your spirit is sick. and then the body follows.
and from the societal ground zero, within the darkest mind, a simple action coming from even the best of intentions becomes kindle for evil thoughts. someone posting something helpful about theology could strike you as annoying, because you know *you* haven't been serious about your relationship with God lately. someone posting about books, which you love, could be a source of envy, because *you* haven't been reading lately and it's making you feel like a failure, because you haven't quite "caught up" and can "never catch up" to everyone else. someone posting something helpful about writing, about exercise, about vacations…about ANYthing, really, can be turned into jealousy/envy/covetousness…in other words, idolatry. that is why social media is cancer. the explosion is from inside us, the very center of us, in our very spirit…our heart…our soul.
fix that, and you fix the problem.
the truth is this: Commandment #1: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
remove the gods, embrace God, and you fix the problem.
remind yourself of every truth, as opposed to every lie, and you fix the problem.
acknowledge that there is something wrong with you and that you're ready to be renewed, and you fix the problem.
it's not rocket science. it's much harder. because the heart is much more complex than rocket science. it is prideful, and self-deceiving...my god, is it ever self-deceiving.
and to loosely quote step 1 from AA (note: i've never been to AA, i only know it from consumed media): admit that you are powerless over your other gods, and that your life has become unmanageable because you have disobeyed commandment #1 and rejected the LORD your God.
we are powerless.
but God isn't.
that, ultimately, is the truth we need to embrace.
for those who have no idea where your soul is standing right now, it stands in the promise of God--that He loves you, and is committed to you, and is wholly dedicated to you, and has said “I am with you ALWAYS, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). that when you were a sinner, Jesus Christ died for you to reconcile you with the Father, to bring you into an everlasting steadfast relationship with the Creator, the God Almighty, who didn't leave you powerless, and to your own devices. He gave you a way out of the cancer by giving you Himself.
this, my friends, is true love which the world cannot give.
the true Christian gospel.
the capital-T Truth.
the question is: do you want it? or has the beautiful lie so deceived you that you can’t even recognize it when it’s staring at you in the face?
Wow.
ReplyDeleteYou are such a lovely person in real life and through email and on your blog. But yes, I really get the frustrations of social media. Especially the "games" that are played. It's so exhausting. So exhausting. It's a platform I feel trapped to.
And then what you say, about treating others according to how you feel about God. So true. The more I love God, the more grace I can give to even those that hurt me and wear me down. The less that I hurt and wear others down.
And what you say about our spirits and bodies. My spirit has been so down for so many reasons. It's been a slow process, but I've finally decided, with God's help, to "reclaim my life's success". Meaning I walk to the top of a mountain every morning and pray and cry and read lol. And I'm studying and writing again. Things are still out of wack, inside and outside. But I'm not falling anymore, I think.
I love what you say about truth and love. Still learning a lot about those.
MB: keturahskorner.blogspot.com
PB: thegirlwhodoesntexist.com