the ignored sin

Sometimes I really hate the computer.
It can be such a distraction, evil in its very insidiousness. Suddenly you realize you just spent an hour on it when you "just went on" to check your email.
It can steal your time, and take your time away from the REAL physical world, and its people and needs. I just feel like I'm wasting my life, sometimes, when I go on the computer without an aim to accomplish.


The birds sing. Evil men plot. The chicken coop needs to be cleaned. A whole host of heathen nations need to hear the Word of God. There are real mountains to climb. Whole worlds to discover! And yet...
Here you are. Sitting on your computer aimlessly browsing your favorite sites/forums/games waiting for the screen to refresh. Playing a game. Cyber-giggling with your friends on Facebook. While time passes.....on and on....


This, my friends, is a serious sin. Wasting time. I'm not going to blatantly say we should NEVER play games, never go on the computer, or chat on Facebook, but I would like to point out that much of the things we do in our lives might simply be "filler": taking up our time while we never get anything back from it.


I'm not going into the content of what you might be doing on the computer; I'm going to focus on the time-wasting aspect. 


The computer, like much of technology, is completely neutral. Its content can be evil or good, and anything in between. The decision lies with us--and how we use it. The internet and the computer were developed to be tools, and extremely helpful ones at that. 


(Also, I'm not decrying people who play games or chat on Facebook or a forum to relax from their stressful, hardworking lives, or it helps them to get away from difficult times.)


It is about us. Are we living our lives in focused way? Are we skillfully sailing our ships through the rough ocean of life or are we aimlessing skidding along on every wave with our sails down? 


After all, America may have many problems that need to be dealt with if our country is to survive, but if our own lives and hearts aren't right, how can we set a good example? And being focused, and having a purpose in life, will certainly help. 
It is something I certainly struggle with! But sail on: their HAS to be a purpose in all of this. A bunch of small good decisions, the decision I can make today to not waste time, or to not commit a sin, will add up to something BIG tomorrow.


Finis.


Two Summery sailboat paintings:

Colorful Regatta by Lisa Lorenz.

The Greatest Race by Montague Dawson.


Auf Weidersehn.


~ Diana