Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Blogging, from my phone? Has it gone too far?

I now have the option of blogging from my phone. I don't have the internet on my phone but apparently this "application" works like Twitter--if  I text it to the corresponding number, it posts text to my blog. I enjoy blogging, it's similar to journaling and I consider journaling to be a spiritual discipline. Blogging is good, especially for pastors and people involved in ministry (see J. Piper's rationale for this). Blogging is something that is redeemable and therefore, can be used for to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31) and for the edification and good of His Church. Something as tedious as Twitter is even redeemable, permissible, and able to be used to the glory of God. 

I have an account with Twitter. I have an account with Blogger. I did have an account with Facebook and I got rid of it (which is much harder to do than it should be). None of those are "bad" in and of themselves; I've said before, to myself and others, that one way to look at sin is the use of good things for bad, i.e., sex turns to sexual immorality, hard work turns to an addiction to success and love of money, a love for holiness and Godly living (w/ no accountability) turns to legalism and arrogance. Sin takes good things and things that can be used for good and uses them for the gratification of the flesh. We as Christians are supposed to guard ourselves against these things so that we don't wander from moderation and self-control to obsession, sequestering yourself from community and being consumed by things like Blogger, Twitter, Facebook etc. and all in the name of "it's within my liberties as a believer to. . ."

My question is, when do we die to our liberties and how do we apply a verse like 1 Corinthians 10:23 to things like Facebook, Twitter, Blogger and the like?

All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 1 Cor 10:23

While you're thinking, check this out. Very funny, very effective.