I said, ‘you are “gods;”
You are all sons of the most high.’
But you will die like mere mortals;
You will fall like every other ruler.”
Rise up, O God, Judge the earth,
For all the nations are your inheritance.
Ps. 82:6-8
23MAR24
As I sit here this morning, on this, the last weekend of Lent, I am reflecting on this season and my fast from negativity and Twitter. Since Ash Wednesday, I have avoided Twitter and for much of this time, any media.
It has not been easy. When I would hear something bad, I had to fix it or hand it over to God, instead of dwelling on it.
As I said, not an easy thing for me to do.
I believe, however, that we, as a society have become addicted to negativity. That we have come to thrive on it and let it become central to our lives and thus replace Almighty God with the ugliness of this world.
We have let fear, negativity and anger replace Faith, Hope and Love as our outlook on life. That we have allowed trust in institutions built by men forge our views and our actions instead of trusting in those built by Christ and faith in Almighty God. We have let our faith in elected men replace our faith in God and Jesus Christ.
We are inundated with a constant, unceasing barrage of negativity from morning to night. From the moment we wake up until we go to sleep at night (and sometimes in our dreams), we see nothing but doom and gloom.
We cannot escape it. Because of technology, we have bad news at our fingertips every single moment of every single day. It is on our tablets, our phones, our radios…It is constantly there and there is no escaping it.
This is not who we are meant to be. During this season, I have been largely unplugged. I have tuned out of the radio and TV and stayed off Twitter. I know that all I see is going to be bad news and moral outrage. I have focused on life and enjoying it, rather than dwelling on issues I am powerless to affect. I have refused to waste my time on trying to shape events that I have no control over.
As a result, I have become more aware of life around me, of life outside that bubble of despair that is every present and pervasive in our lives. I have seen the world through a different lens and my outlook is more cheerful. I have been able to focus more on Christ and what his sacrifice means for me and for the world.
When I do hear something bad come across the news, I hand it over to the Lord. Oh, I might make some comment or observation to Melissa, but I go back to what I was doing and leave it there.
We were meant to be hopeful. People who are happy and hopeful are also healthier. Negativity drains you and keeps you from what is truly important. Hand it over to God and let him handle it. Enjoy the blessing that he has given us.
In closing, my twitter friends, I have missed you. I will see you, God Willing, on Easter. To everyone else, may your days be lifted up with happiness and blessings.
~Steven
