Monday, June 6, 2011

Balancing our online time

I've been silent for some time as my infant has become a crawler and cruiser and needs my complete attention; but the onslaught of moral corruption in the political sphere by a Republican senator from Georgia recently and confession today by a New York senator have called me out of the shadows. I believe we men need return to the simple life. Today's developments in technology and fascinating improvements in social networking make us close to stranger and friend alike in ways we've never known. Our ability to interface and interact with others has been heightened to unprecedented levels. I am very thankful for the technological upswing. It brings an opportunity to relate more personally with others, an access to information and opportunities unprecedented, and an accountability for our online actions as our activity is in the close purview of many. With these opportunities come great responsibility to ensure our part is not to get so engrossed in our never before known privileges that we become vulnerable to abuse or misuse of our internet time, poor stewards of the web. As men, we are prone to live in a world dominated by fantasies, far removed from the real-time marriages and child-rearing responsibilities God has graciously granted to us. Each fantasy we indulge draws us into a web of addiction, which draws us farther and farther from our spouses, leading us eventually into a marriage of convenience or eventual divorce, where each partner does his or her part to procure the children's well-being.  Two partners once close now engage in passionless sex, interact when necessary, and relate to each other as a matter of duty. You'd agree that a lot of the failure we've seen in the public square has its rooting in godless fantasies, indulged to the peril of each politician. It's time that we men get wrapped into reality. I feel my best and far removed from vile fantasies, when I'm passionately consumed with winning my wife (can't wait to take her to get her caramel highlights on Thursday), plugged into meeting my kids needs, and using the internet to exponentially further the kingdom of God in the lives of those who view my fruit of online time in the world of God's Word and self-growth. The call is to return to your immediate world; the time we spend with our families, workmates, and people in our sphere of influence, men,  is the most precious investment of our lives; God help us use our online time for self-growth and greater impact rather than self-indulgence.