The Glory of Face Time

I have a friend who recently celebrated a birthday.  She expressed to me how interesting it was that she received lots of well wishes on her Facebook page, but when she went to the mailbox on her special day, not one birthday card was there for her.  She said this made her very sad.

The art of letter writing and sending cards to one another is sadly going by the wayside.  It seems that our social media is making things more convenient for us, but in a way there is such a downside.   People text rather than call now... I don't know about you, but I would much rather hear the person's voice!  My favorite thing to do is to pick up the phone, and call my best friend on a Sunday afternoon.  I love to relax on my front porch while doing this!  I grew up in the generation where you grabbed the phone and disappeared in your closet to talk to a boyfriend on the phone!!   It was fun and I loved doing it.

Now with texting and Facebook, we talk on a screen and just read words.  This to me is so impersonal and sometimes very rude.  Some people will only text you, like they don't want to get into a conversation with you.  Others will leave you a message only on Facebook, or how about e-mail?  I have known people that have terminated their employment with an e-mail message!  Are we that uncaring that we can't even face our boss in that situation?  Or do we feel we have more power with words on a screen rather than what we say to one another? 

It is as if all this social stuff has made us less compassionate... pushing a button to delete a friend on Facebook is easy for anyone to do.   All of us have been on the end of that.  There is power in this option too.  And what about those who intentionally write a status that is cruel about someone?  Is it so important to air dirty laundry for everyone to read?  I have read that I-phones and I-pads usage, or whatever phone or pad you have, has actually become an obsession, to the point of it being an addiction!  Psychologists are saying now that our addiction with social media is like being on a drug.  Video games etc. all have this darkside as well. 

So what do we do?  GOD tells us that we need to do all things with balance in mind.  When I weigh all this social media against what GOD tells me, I can see it for what it is, and I realize that Facebook time is NOT face time! I thank GOD that HE has given me the discernment to see that it is still relationship that counts, not relationship on a Facebook page.  I wonder if it grieves HIS heart to see us all so caught up in looking at a screen 24/7, rather than looking at each other!  Those that spend quality time with family and friends above all else will reap the blessing of that time spent.

I encourage you to write a personal card to someone today... make that phone call to a friend who needs to hear your voice!  Make this a priority each day.  Find one day a week where you go on a social media fast.  Honestly, it will all be there the next day.  I am amazed at how free I feel when I just take a break from it all.   Let's not lose those prescious moments that only real true face time can create!  GOD wants us in community as much as possible.  HE wants to bless us with friends and family... relationships that create memories... relationships that teach us how to love like HIM... realtionships that become timeless blessings from above!

HEBREWS 10:25 "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching."