My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: "O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!"

28 October 2008

My internet fast: reflections and resolutions

I've been back from the internet fast for a while. Here are some thoughts and applications.
  • My relationship to the internet is definitely more love/hate than ever
  • The internet is a powerful tool and should be wisely used for great good by God's people
  • The internet is a powerful tool and can be wickedly used for great harm by anyone, God's people included
  • A month away from the incessant drumbeat of more information isn't enough to get me back to thinking more deeply. I need to read more books and less snippets.
  • James was right (1:14) -- Temptations come from within, whether laziness or impurity or otherwise. The internet, especially through anonymity, only fans the already-present flame. To think otherwise, to think we can avoid temptation by swearing off this or that, is foolish.
  • However, though temptation is unavoidable, wisdom will lead us to avoid it as much as possible
  • For now, I have decided to only read blogs of people I know personally. There are lots of great thinking and posting being done right now, but I simply can't keep up and am tired of trying. I have too many wonderful and powerful and proven books to read to wade through the good, bad and ugly of blogging. But I do want to keep up with friends and family!
  • I am officially quitting youtube...unless someone sends me a link to something worthwhile. Really, it's just a time waster and my schedule needs surgery right now.
  • I'm not sure if I'm going to keep blogging or not. I like the idea of a pastor being able to do a little more teaching and writing in a medium accessible to the congregation. But I'm not sure that I have a lot to say right now. As topics come up in my life and reading, I will likely still use the blog to attempt a small helpfulness to others.
  • I have decided to start a tumblr blog for my own sake: here I intend to post quotes, news stories, pictures, etc., that might be helpful in future lessons, articles or sermons. Feel free to follow along, but don't feel you need to. I'm using tumblr instead of blogger for this project because it is more user friendly and the tagging system is a little more intuitive.