Thinking Like the Internet

It is amazing (but actually also quite sad) to see how much our internet habits have formed the way we think about things. This would not be a problem if the internet were filled with wisdom and real life actions. Sadly, it is not. Facebook does one thing to our thinking, youtube does another, etc. Yet, you often do not notice it because you cannot "see the forest through the trees". Let me present to you some other ways to consider this, and see how much you have already been influenced by the "internet way" of thinking about things.

Do you like Jesus? What happens if you do not? Does it really change anything for Him? Does it make Him less real, or His testimony less true? No. Yet, people seem to be heavily influenced today by a supposed power of "liking" as though it is what gives something a real existence. They appear to believe that things that have a large number of "likes" are automatically more worthy. I often hear about someone "clicking the 'like' button" as though they believe that things are only good if a large number of people "like" them. Imagine, if you will for a moment, that absolutely no one in all of creation "liked" Jesus. It does not make Him less divine, or change His status as the Judge of all mankind. "Liking" tells us almost nothing about the object or person in question, but largely only about the person doing the "liking".

In fact, to make it perfectly clear: did you know that you can "like" Jesus and still not obey Him? I came across someone once who genuinely "liked" Jesus. No, I do not mean that this person clicked the "I like Jesus" button (and I sincerely pray that no one has made one!). Rather, he knew the basics of who Jesus was, and said that he really liked Him. He did not, however, believe that Jesus actually existed, and said that the Apostles got together and made the story up just to gain followers. He "liked" Jesus somewhat like someone "likes" Superman; cool, but fictional. Thus, he ignored what Jesus said, because if He did not exist then nothing He said makes any difference and is no more than a pleasant fairy tale.

The manner in which these influences impact our daily lives will probably not be realized for a century or two. It will take our descendants who are much less influenced by the world than us to figure out how deep a pit we dug ourselves into. Do not let the world influence you to the point of where you do not even recognize its influence. Let us work to separate ourselves from a worldly way of thinking. Whether it was created by the internet, or just a bad philosophy that was invented by someone who does not know God, they all need to be set aside for the truth of Christ.