Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Is the internet evil?


Are the internet and social media outlets, like Facebook and Twitter, evil?  This past political cycle was the nastiest, sleaziest, ugliest mess I have ever witnessed, and thousands upon thousands of people continue to spew their overbearing opinions through blogs, Facebook posts, and Tweets.  This past week two-time Grammy and Emmy winning comedian, Kathy Griffin participated in a photo shoot in which she held up a decapitated, bloody head that resembled Mr. President Trump.  When I saw the firestorm of Twitter posts related to this un-newsworthy story my stomach physically turned.  Have we lost all respect for mankind?  I cannot imagine how President Trump’s son felt when he first viewed this barbaric photo.  We are most definitely witnessing evil behavior that is being broadcast to the multitudes through these news veins.  But, are social media outlets themselves evil?
What is the definition of social media?  I made this up myself, so I don’t have to reference anyone else.  Social media is a conduit or tool used to instantly communicate information to the vastness of society.  A tool is a lifeless object that cannot take on the attributes of a human being, therefore the answer to my initial answer is no.  So, where is this evil behavior birthed? From the depths of the human heart.  The prophet Jeremiah wrote, The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”  Jeremiah 17:9.  And Jesus said, “But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.”  Matthew 15:18.  The heart is wicked, and every wicked thing that comes out of the mouth erupts from the heart, and every evil thing that is tweeted originates from the human heart.  It is a proven fact that most people will communicate through email, texts, and Facebook statements that they would not say to another human being face to face.  It is truly an unhealthy use of freedom of speech, but rightly used, social media outlets can be used to glorify God and advance His Kingdom.  So, before you rant about the evils of this cyber-tech world, first check your own heart.  If parasites were truly eliminated from our hearts, we would not see as many evil posts on the World Wide Web.  I love ya’ll. 

Pastor Artie