Virtual Insanity

 

Just over two weeks ago, the social media giant Facebook suffered a connection problem and for six hours the world went without WhatsApp, Messenger and Facebook[1].

It was a major problem, not least because according to some reports the software glitch also affected the security in Facebook’s head office in California, meaning that employees couldn’t get into the building to rectify the situation.

I found it quite amusing to read posts on the internet saying, things like “How I can’t live without my beloved Facebook” and “This is the only way I can talk to my American Girlfriend”, with someone posting “Have you tried texting, emailing, or just (throwing it out there), a phone call?!!”

A similar thing happened in June when a customer of one website company, Fastly, just did a simple change of their settings, causing 85% of the websites they host to go down[2].

Well billionaire founder, Mark Zuckerberg soon apologised, and life returned to normal.

It raises the question, what can’t we live without? Can you switch off your phone for a day, or would that be like switching off your life support system? Have we succumbed to “Virtual Insanity”?

Could you manage a break from Facebook or Twitter or WhatsApp or Instagram for a day? Maybe the older listeners are saying, “I don’t know what you are talking about”, but could they live without TV or the telephone?

The apostle Paul, who wrote much of the NT part of the Bible, once wrote a long list of the things he had suffered, including going without sleep, going without food, going without comfort or safety, yet he said that he could boast in these weaknesses because they brought out the power of God all the more (2 Cor 11:23-33).

Paul could go without many things, and of course he managed without any of the technology that we can’t live without today, but he certainly couldn’t have gone without the presence of Jesus Christ who he turned to on the Damascus Road. He said “I can do all things through Jesus who gives me strength”.  

I wonder if you have come to discover how wonderful and indispensable the Lord Jesus Christ is. Have a great day.

Charlie Newcombe 20/10/21

Followed by “Virtual Insanity” by Jamiroquai.