Sailing Away From My Latest Addiction

There is a reason that this blog has become fallow lately. I left for a while to pursue the latest worldwide addiction: Facebook. I guess the fog lifted today after I got into a heated debate with a Christian friend of mine about something I posted on Facebook. And I really wish I hadn’t done that (both posted and defended my post). Sometimes the words on a page do not do a very good job of translating to the exact sentiment bouncing around in my head.

So what is it about Facebook anyway that makes it so much of an international cultural phenomenon? I guess it is a manifestation of our deep seated need to connect with others. But isn't that the real beauty of this particular deception? Do we REALLY connect by Internet anyway? I know there are emotional affairs and sexual fantasy trysts that take place behind a computer screen. But does any of this really take the place of sipping lattes at Starbucks taking turns exchanging thoughts or laughing around a full dinner table passing canned vegetables and dry meat loaf? Not really. It is the insecure coward’s way of connecting without the risk of true intimacy or painful refection. And I am such a man. I need to back away and stop the obsession of "who updated their status within the last four hours". My wife says that I can’t delete any friends. I have to stay friends with them on Facebook forever. So instead of bucking social networking protocol, I’ll just quietly slip out the back door and get back to this abandoned house.

God has been showing me lots of cool stuff in the Bible anyway; and I need to get back to putting it down here. I’ll start tomorrow by talking about whom Bathsheba’s grandfather was, and why that affair had ramifications far beyond what the casual Bible reader thinks about it. I’m in Exodus and it’s rocking my world. Then I need to talk about adultery, shooting people that deserve it, stealing from employers, Christian Gnostics, and all the stuff lately that has been draining my tank on a daily basis.


And then there is my pride and joy…my little girl...whom I have to hand off to another man soon; and the deep sadness that I have been pushing down every time I think about that. God, how I love her! I'm not sure what that is all about. So I really have no clue about how to handle what is springing up from the depths of my soul. I feel like such a failure as a father. She says otherwise. And this would be a great time for the truth to be known and have it set me free. Actually I need to be set free from lots of confines and restraints. But that is for another blog post. Time to pull some weeds and trim the hedges.