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Questions appropriate for printing in the War Cry will be answered through this column.
39
The War Cry | SEPTEMBER 2014
Dear Trying:
It's often the negative and shocking that
catches the attention and spreads quickly.
People want to know what has happened,
what has gone wrong and why. We care
about the threat of bad things, and want to
find ways to protect ourselves from them.
And the number of ways the news can get
to us is almost overwhelming!
There are things that can be done to min-
imize our exposure to negative news such
as limiting the number of times in a day we
access such information. We can decide
to check/receive only one or two cycles of
world and community news daily, whether
that be reading the newspaper, listening to
a radio/television broadcast or accessing
the news online. But such decisions can't
be made about the challenging life events
that happen to us or our loved ones.
As Christians, we believe there is no hope
apart from a daily, living relationship with
Jesus Christ. Any plan that does not include
Him cannot survive over time. Remind
yourself, and take heart in the thought, that
God is in control. We are not. The problems
of this world are not just ours to solve. The
rampant sin that so many embrace, and even
appear to seek out, is not ours to eradicate.
Only God has that power. Only those involved
can cry to Him for deliverance from their sin.
Our responsibility is to love God with
all of our being, to seek first His king-
dom, respond to the leading of the Holy
Spirit and share His love with all we
come in contact with. We focus on Him,
His revealed will and with the Apostle
Paul, "what is true, and honorable, and
right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable...
things that are excellent and worthy of
praise" (Philippians 4:8 NLT).
Keeping ourselves properly focused
and remembering that God is ultimately
in control will help us navigate the stormy
waters of this life.
Dear Faulty:
In recent years, there has been an
explosion of technology. Devices associ-
ated with the new advances are almost
too numerous to keep up with. It is at
once a time of exciting discoveries and
enhancements as well as a dizzying rush
into uncharted and uncomfortable terri-
tory. Cell phones, iPods, tablet computers,
MP3 players, electronic readers, texting,
social media, Skype are some of the key
changes in this new world. And there
are more in the works! While the use of
some of this technology has not been
around long enough for serious study of
their long-term effects, there have been
some studies, surveys, observations, and
professional opinions shared. While there
are many positives to be found, the great
negative is that being so connected often
takes people away from being present in
the moment and present with the real
people in their daily lives. Real life inter-
actions allow us to notice body language,
to hear the tone of the voice, to look into
another's eyes and get a sense of the
person. Those things cannot be shared
in a text or a post. Currently, we can only
imagine what being "plugged in" will mean
over time for social development of our
children and teenagers.
The excitement of communicating in-
stantly across the miles cannot be ignored.
Neither should the people physically present
take a back seat to technology. For this
reason, some Christians are electing to take
"technology fasts" when they see that they
are overusing devices and ignoring people.
We applaud this.
It would be helpful to imagine what Jesus
would do in this sea of technology. The Son
of God, who knows the very number of the
hairs on our head, doesn't want even one
person to be lost to Him. He would more
than likely make use of the technology
around Him, setting it aside when a flesh
and blood person was present.
Dear Aunt Sally:
Life and the news are depressing.
How can I focus on the positive?
-- Trying to Stay Afloat
Dear Aunt Sally:
Do you think that gadgets, phones,
etc., are hurting our socialization?
-- Faulty Connections