http://www.gospelandculture.org/2008/12/redeeming-social-life-online/
How many of our lives and relationships would radically change if we didn’t have a cell phone, email, and access to the Internet? How many of us are unable to be fully present with the people we’re with, because we’re distracted by our cell phones, iPods, Blackberries, or iPhones?
© Justin Buzzard, All rights reserved.
Over the last few decades, we’ve experienced greater technological development than in any previous generation. These technologies have radically affected how we participate in community, how we operate as families, and how we work.
Technology is usually created with the intention of making life better. However, it always carries the possibility of blessing or curse because it exists as a tool used by fallen people in a fallen world. If we use tools without understanding their power, we stand a good chance of harming others or failing to exploit the tremendous good they can do.
Enter Facebook.
Like most other new things, Christians tend to either embrace Facebook uncritically, or retreat from it and condemn its use. Embracing technology uncritically—the “bear hug,” as I call it—means using a technology without thinking through its impact on yourself and others. The “cold shoulder”—ignoring/retreating from/condemning a technology—is often driven by misguided fears and shallow biblical interpretation. While the problems with embracing uncritically are more easily discerned, giving a technology like Facebook the cold shoulder also has its problems.
Humankind has been given the work of mastering the earth, which involves the tasks of creating and cultivating (Gen. 1:28). Ultimately, this mandate is to be carried out in service of the two great commandments—love of God (which involves honoring his creation) and love of neighbor (Mat. 22:36-40). As we participate with integrity in technologies that provide avenues for loving God and other people, we are doing something deeply human and honorable.
Scripture calls us to thoughtfully create and cultivate. As this relates to technology, it involves taking a third way, what I call the “side hug:” thinking through how a technology such as Facebook can cause harm or help in our pursuit of loving God and others.
After an initial 30-day experiment with Facebook, I’m now several months into being a regular, almost daily, user. Along the way, I’ve detected many ways in which Facebook can hinder our pursuit of the great commandments, and many ways participation in it can be leveraged as a means of blessing.
read on.
