Media Matters: Part 5
I’ve talked a lot about media and influence this year - especially how God has used it in powerful and positive ways in my life. I want to pause and bring up the other side. Last night, I was watching a show called the Rookie (everyone has their own viewpoints on what they do or don’t watch as a Christian, so if you lean on the more conservative side - you will not like it). There was this debate throughout the whole episode about the pitfalls of the internet.
You see - there was this young man who was looking for a girlfriend. He decided to create profiles on dating apps and mention he was a cop. He was warned against this and led into a trap by a girl who was family to a gang that liked to kill cops.
In another part of town, another man was catfished (when someone pretends to be someone that they are not to get money from you) by his own wife. She had created a fake profile and wanted to divorce him, so she pretended to be a girl that liked him and get him to give her money for a “surgery”. The woman did this all because she wanted the money to divorce him without having to divide things down the middle. It was crazy!
This reminds me of my own time, years ago, when for fun, I put profiles on several dating apps. I was not going to go on any dates - but was curious. While on there, I discovered a strange phenomenon. The people that I received the highest ratings on were men that I knew in the rather large church I went to. One of those men, in particular, stuck out to me.
The man was in his late 20s and now his early 30s. He would snapchat me pictures of his work place every day. He was an extremely hard worker and someone who had skills that I do admire. I did not admire the way he was on multiple dating profiles, in a very large church, and could never look me in the eye. He could snapchat me every day - yet refuse to acknowledge me in person consistently. I could be wrong, but it seemed like he was that way with a lot of girls.
I am NOT saying he was a horrible person. I’m saying the internet is a tool to build in-person relationships. There are those that hide behind a screen out of fear of vulnerability and real life intimacy. Tirzah is a no - judgment zone, but I want to be clear about this ministry. We utilize Tirzah as a tool to get you into real life community.
When you read back on other series, you will see the very real and close friendships I’ve built in real life. You can actually read how Yelena met her own real-life husband through an Instagram message, and they were from the same community, went to the same college. Use discernment and don’t get catfished or almost killed by a gang (I doubt any of us will find ourselves hunted down by a gang for being a cop). I genuinely don’t believe any form of social media dating or platforms by themselves are genuinely evil - unless explicity stating it is for sinful intent.
The reality is media was never meant to take the place of face to face coffee, church community, and the workplace. We were meant to live in REAL community - side by side, face to face. You can follow my journey on @alymarie1991 in person and see that I am intentional to have wonderful, vibrant real life relationships. Many of whom wouldn’t have happened without Tirzah.
Paul has a lot to say in the Bible about how we utilize the things God has given us. In 1 Corinthians 10:23, it says all things are permissible, but not everything is good for us. This is a great rule of thumb for the internet. Don’t swing too much behind the screen or too much in-person. Life is a pendulum where we’re always attempting to find the balance. Media is one of those - so use with Jesus, balance, and discretion.