The battle of good vs evil.
I have had a cell phone since about 1990. It was a big black bag phone, with a regular handset. It plugged into the cigarette lighter of the car, just like the charging cords do now a days. Because I had so many children, and worked out in the tractor, or drove my elderly friend around, she thought I needed a mobile phone. So, I got one, (I still have it), and it worked pretty well. I could check on the kids when they came home from school, tell them where I was, and tell them to do their chores and homework. It also provided a way for the children to contact me if they needed to get permission for something or know how to prepare something to eat. It didn’t take pictures, text, sing, have any emoji’s, or anything else, it simply rang. The minutes were expensive, so the less you talked the better.
Today we have unlimited talk, text and data. We can also take pictures, movies, stream music and watch movies. We can face time, face book, snap chat, Instagram, tweet, and the list goes on and on. The phone went from a thing of convenience, to a thing that has us enslaved. We can’t put it down let alone live without it. And heaven help us if we mislaid it somewhere, we will go mad until we find it again!
The sad thing about all this, is people misuse this wonderful invention. They use it as a weapon, a thing to harm people’s reputation, self-confidence, and exploit others. Statements are taken out of context, misquoted and just used to lie about others. Some people use it as a means of enticement, extortion and entrapment. Once something is out there in cyber space, it can never be brought back. If there is such a thing as infinity in the cellular world, some pictures and texts are still floating around out there in it.
I am afraid this device is helping some people become idle gossips. Instead of doing something constructive, they spend their time in idle prattle, and gossiping. Tattling on what they call friends to their face, and destroying them with a phone call to someone else. What possesses a normal nice person, to forget all they learned about the gossip mill, and stoop to conducting themselves in a way to promote hate? The best part about my phone is the camera, because now I don’t have to luge a camera everywhere I go. (You never know when your grandkid will do something funny, and you have to be prepared!)
This is why I have a love, hate relationship with my phone. I love the fact my truck driving husband can call be from the frozen tundra, or the mountains of the south. I hate that now I get; “hello, this is your credit card company, there is nothing wrong with your account….” I have usually hung up by then. I love that my kids and grandkids in Texas can call me no matter where I am, but hate it when I get: “Hi, I am ***** from the travel awards center…. again I hang up. I guess there are good sides and bad sides to everything, and an upside is my blog is available any time, place and anywhere! That is definitely the love part of the relationship!
As parents it is important for us to be diligent in monitoring what our children are seeing, hearing, and saying on any mobile device. It is our job to keep them safe, mind, body and soul, so yes, check the text messages and what they are streaming. How many kids have a Bible app on their phone? How many have snapchat? What do you approve or disapprove of? Wake up parents, before they are harmed.
We as authors have the world of referencing at our fingertips. An encyclopedia, dictionary, and fact checkers also, this must be Nirvana! Let us do our best to only use this to be a positive influence in our lives!
And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
I Timothy 5:13
For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
II Thessalonians 3:11
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Ephesians 4:29
A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.
Proverbs 11:13
He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
Proverbs 20:19
Where no wood is, [there] the fire goeth out: so where [there is] no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
Proverbs 26:20
Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
Proverbs 34:13