Exposing the Dangers of Technology & Media (04/17/24)

The Conley Family informed me last Friday, via email, that they were leaving the church. They do not see a place for themselves any longer at SCBC and have decided to move on.

Always continue to be friendly and respectful to and of those who have left South Charlotte Baptist Church regardless of their reason for leaving!

While “losing” church members can be/is discouraging, we must continue to remain faithful to our purpose and mission:

Purpose: Proclaiming the Gospel; Experiencing the miracle of changed lives.

Mission: To be that church in Pineville where individuals/families can find the Truth; be taught the Truth; learn to live the Truth; learn to share the Truth, all in the love of God.

Message: Exposing the Dangers of Media (Part 3)

Briefly, allow me to share another article with you:

END THE PHONE-BASED CHILDHOOD NOW

Something went suddenly and horribly wrong for adolescents in the early 2010s.

By now you’ve likely seen the statistics: Rates of depression and anxiety in the United States—fairly stable in the 2000s—rose by more than 50 percent in many studies from 2010 to 2019.

The suicide rate rose 48 percent for adolescents ages 10 to 19. For girls ages 10 to 14, it rose 131 percent.

What happened in the early 2010s that altered adolescent development and worsened mental health?

I think the answer can be stated simply, although the underlying psychology is complex:

Those were the years when adolescents in rich countries traded in their flip phones for smartphones and moved much more of their social lives online—

particularly onto social-media platforms designed for virality and addiction.

I do not share these articles with you in an attempt to scare you or to simply cause you to decide to get rid of your “devices.”

It is my desire to help us all realize that these devices are powerful and that, because of that, we need to give serious consideration to 1) our acceptance of them and 2) our use of them.

Also, before we dive into the “meat” of the message this evening, I would like to revisit the “rabbit hole” we went down last week.

Question: What are these devices used for?

I asked you this question before we looked at a very quick history of the evolution of means of communication from the telegraph, to the telephone, to the personal computer, and then finally to the cellular phone and the smartphone.

This past week, as I have had the opportunity to continue to consider this entire subject, there’s one word that kept coming to my mind:

Intentionality

Adults, as you were growing up, consider all of the things that needed to be done “intentionally:”

Telephone calls

Writing letters

Simply communicating with a friend (Unless you were with them, you had to, somehow remember the thought until the next time that you could get to a telephone or see them in person.)

Playing a game

Watching our favorite show (which required setting aside a specific time on a specific day of the week)

Listening to music (before the invention of the Sony Walkman)

Taking pictures

Shopping - Even “window shopping” had to be done intentionally.

The word intentional means done with design or purpose.

Now, technology has made made the word intentional obsolete.

Unfortunately, because of that, much of what we do with technology and media is done without design or purpose.

mindless scrolling through social media

mindless “searching” on the internet

Hours of playing Candy Crush

binge watching our favorite shows

While we will talk about this later,

Our Christian lives need to be lived with design and purpose.

That includes our use of technology and media.

Ephesians 5:8 KJV 1900

For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

To walk as children of light requires intentionality!

Ephesians 5:8 reminds us of three truths:

We were (past tense) “darkness.”

We are “light in the Lord.”

We should, therefore, walk as “children of light.”

But, in relation to technology and media, what does walking as children of light look like?

First of all, Scripture tells us that we are to prove what is acceptable unto the Lord.

Ephesians 5:10 KJV 1900

Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

Prove

The word translated prove here refers to testing, as in testing metals for genuineness.

Is our use of the technology or device pleasing to the Lord!

1 Thessalonians 4:1 KJV 1900

Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

2 Timothy 2:4 KJV 1900

No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

How do we know what is acceptable unto the Lord?

While some of what I am about to say is going to be overlap with some later points, I believe it bears sharing at this point as we seek to answer that question.

Consider Paul’s admonition to Timothy:

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV 1900

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Study: put forth effort

Why? For what purpose?

In the context of what we are discussing, the purpose would be that you might be able to answer the question, “How do we know what is acceptable (pleasing) to the Lord?”

Turn to and read Matthew 25:14-27.

This third servant didn’t really know what it was that was going to please the master. And, had he really had a desire to please his master, he would have put for the effort to find out exactly what it was that would please his master.

Are you and I willing to do the same? Are we so desirous of wanting to please our Lord that we will put forth the effort to determine what is going to please our Lord? Specifically in regards to our technology and media use?

Study

Turn to and read Ephesians 5:1-12.

Recently, as I was studying this passage of Scripture, I began to jot down some questions that came to mind that, in relation to our technology and media use, should help us in determining that which is pleasing to the Lord.

Is it becoming of a Christian? (vs. 3)

Becoming: Fit; suitable; congruous [agreeable to]; proper; graceful; belonging to the character, or adapted to circumstances;

Is it filthy? (vs. 4)

Exploring Ephesians & Philippians: An Expository Commentary b. Impurity in Our Talk (5:4a)

“Filthiness” comes from the word aischrotēs, which signifies something shameful or obscene. A Christian should not tell dirty jokes or talk about things that make other people blush. In our day, open talk about intimate matters is acceptable. Nothing is sacred. The language of the gutter is freely used in books and broadcasts. Vulgar talk that would have been considered pornography a generation ago is now hard to avoid. The tendency is for us Christians to lower our standards also. The world is always trying to pour us into its mold, but the Holy Spirit brings us back to the gold standard of Christlike behavior; He takes us away from the worthless paper currency of the world’s immoral ways.

Is it foolish (vs. 4)

The trouble with foolish or flippant talk is that it degenerates into worse talk.

Is is it hurtful? (vs. 4)

As vs. 4 states, these (filthy, foolish, vulgar) are not “fitting” for those who are seeking to be followers of God. (vs. 1)

Does it demonstrate a thankful attitude? (vs. 4)

As one commentator stated:

In the new life, expressions of gratitude to God should replace the misguided with and empty-headed talk of sinners.

Is it deceiving? (vs. 6)

Does it cause you to participate with the world which is in opposition to God? (vs. 7)

We’ll see the application of vs. 9 in following weeks.

Is it beneficial to our Christian life and walk with God? (vs. 11)

Ephesians 4:29 KJV 1900

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.

We would never knowingly allow someone to stand in front of us who yelled at us and cut us up into shreds with their words and yet we - through our use of technology and media - allow that into our lives which is designed to tear down our Christian life and walk with God?

Do we have to do it in secret? (vs. 12)

While I am sure that, as you study this passage of Scripture, you could/would come up with some additional questions to ask, I trust that we will use these to help us to answer the question:

Is our use of the technology or device pleasing to the Lord!

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