10-12-2021
About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.” - Matthew 18:1-6
And they were bringing children to him so that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. - Mark 10:13-16
If there is one subject that gets people riled up - or at least it should - it is how society & culture manipulate and groom our children. Recently, we heard the truth many have been shouting about for years. Online activities and social media can be harmful - even deadly - to our kids.
Multiple news outlets released information last week from a Facebook whistleblower who told Congress that the social media company and its products harm children and fuel hate and misinformation in the U.S. If that were not enough she also stated Facebook leaders refuse to make changes because of a desire to put "astronomical profits before people."
Frances Haugen, a former Facebook data scientist, testified to the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection. She shared: "I believe Facebook’s products harm children, stoke division, and weaken our democracy...The company’s leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won’t make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people."
This information was first reported by the Wall Street Journal in a series of stories, called "The Facebook Files," which (not shockingly) revealed a giant tech company focused on growth and its own interests rather than the public good. Haugen offered tens of thousands of pages of internal research documents she secretly copied before leaving her job in Facebook’s civic integrity unit. Civic integrity unit? Not so much it seems...
And before you judge Ms. Haugen as someone just trying to get attention, note that she has a degree in computer engineering and a master’s degree in business from Harvard. Prior to working for Facebook in 2019 she worked for 15 years at companies including Google and Pinterest. She has, as they say, “Skin in the game.”
The research leaked by Haugen showed that for some teens devoted (insert the term addicted here) to Instagram the peer pressure generated by the visually focused app led to mental health and body-image problems, and in some cases, eating disorders and suicidal thoughts. One internal study cited 13.5% of teen girls saying Instagram makes thoughts of suicide worse and 17% of teen girls saying it makes eating disorders worse.
And Facebook did nothing. Their brief statement in response to Haugen’s testimony, was to simply say the company doesn’t agree with "her characterization of many issues." Wow.
And, then, surprisingly - not surprisingly? - Facebook and Instagram went black this past week for almost a whole day. Coincidence? We think not.
Why should we focus on this? Because our children “are a heritage from the LORD,” Psalm 1217:3. The church is losing children/teens/young adults by the boatload and it’s like we do not care. Studies show 85% of people between the ages of 18-35 leave the church and never return. Rather than protecting, building them up and preparing them for the world, the church has allowed the world to step in, step on, and drag young people down it’s selfish and sin-filled path to eternal separation from God. The worst part of it? We have no one to blame but ourselves.
Yes, the blame lies squarely on us. Not Facebook. Not Instagram. Not Tik-Tok. Not Snapchat. We are the guilty ones for the next generation’s fall. Just as money, alcohol, tobacco, TV, rock and roll and the internet are not to be blamed for society’s downfall - rather it is the abusers of these “things” that are at fault. Time to look in the mirror.
So, what is the answer? Let’s summarize the words of Jesus from above: “Make sure you focus on children and youth and young adults. Let them come to me. Don’t force them...they will come. And, whatever you do, DO NOT mislead or hurt them. If you do...well, it won’t be good for you. These kids are most precious to me. Be like them. Don’t make fun of them. Join them in coming to me - taste and see that the LORD is good.”
As a final word, social media outlets and the internet have (ironically) kept the family of God moving forward when we were not allowed to be with one another. And don’t get us started on the amount of Bible study material available at the click of a button! Amazing! God has given us these options so that the “gates of hell will not prevail against” his people.
That said, let us not allow these “options” to take the place of you and I in the lives and futures of generations to come. Be involved and use the tools God has provided to make certain the church of Jesus Christ is reaching out to the “least of these” and to “Give thanks to the LORD, calling on his name; making known among the nations what he has done,” Psalm 105:1
Next week? Maybe a word or two about artificial intelligence…
Steve and Missy
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