"But now also put these things out of your life: anger, bad temper, doing or saying things that hurt others, and using evil words when you talk. Do not lie to each other. You have left your old sinful life and the things you did before. You have begun to live a new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One that made you." Colossians 3: 8-10a"Therefore, since we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2
Spring is in the air; tulips and dogwood trees are beginning to bloom, birds are chirping and busy making their nests to lay their eggs, days are getting longer, and it is time for the Big Spring Clean in many areas of our lives! One area of our lives that would benefit a good Spring Cleaning is in the area of Technology. Technology is such a huge part of our lives in 2011. Let's look at every Technological gadget in our lives and make sure that we are regularly "throwing off everything that may hinder or easily entangle" our lives in Christ!
I personally enjoy new technology tools that are available in our lives today. Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, E-mail, and Texting have become the new "Front Porch" in today's society. Years ago women use to gather on the front porch and visit with their "front porch friends" and now they tend to gather via technology and visit with their "face book friends".
Technology can be used for good or bad and it is important to regularly evaluate how these tools are impacting our lives and the lives that our life impacts. If we are not careful, the enemy will try and creep in and entangle Christians through technology, let's be wise and regularly evaluate our life as we throw off anything that could easily entangle or hinder our walk with the Lord and/or our witness with those that need us to share the Lord with them.
1 Timothy 5:13 warns against being "...idle, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not say..."
As our spiritual lives experience a healthy Spring Cleaning, lets be honest with God as He desires to clean out every area of our life as this could be a strategic time to evaluate our technology life in Christ. Here are a few thoughts/words of wisdom to think about as we evaluate our technology life and encourage one another:
- Am I Using Facebook or Technology to complain or discourage in any way
- Am I Spending too much time on Facebook or Technology
- Am I A Positive Influence or Negative Influence through Technology
- Am I Comparing myself with others through Technology
- Am I Using information that I gather through Technology to gossip or gather gossip about others? Do we excluding others or pick and choose who to respond to which leads to unhealthy clicks or closed circles that could discourage instead of encourage
- Am I Ignoring my husband or children or daily responsibilities to "hang out on today's front porch"
- Am I Allowing the enemy to cause any negative feelings of defeat through Technology
- Am I Posting inappropriate pictures or comments
- Am I Addicted to any tool of Technology? Do I constantly check technology tools many times a day?
- Am I Measuring self-worth based on what others say or how many friends or followers there are
So let's all just have a good dose of healthy Spring Cleaning through and through in our lives! Just think about how you feel when all the closets of our lives are uncluttered and clean and ready to share the cleaner of our lives, JESUS, with others!
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he/she is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come"! 2 Corinthians 5:17
