Falsebook and Instahurt - Blowing the Whistle on Manipulators of our Children

 

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

Texas, Twinkies and Caring for Strangers

 

09-21-2021

Deuteronomy 10: 19 - You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 19:34 - The alien who resides with you shall be as a citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Matthew 25:40 - ...as you did it to one of the least of my brethren you did it to me.

Hebrews 13: 1 - Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Matthew 25: 35 - I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.

Romans 12:13 - Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

    In recent news we have sadly witnessed the gut-wrenching views of what is occurring down in Del Rio, Texas. Thousands of migrants - mainly from Haiti - have made their way to a bridge/overpass and have begun camping out there.

    The great majority are not running past the Border Patrol agents but rather are hunkering down, cutting up tall wild plants and making thatch huts to keep from suffering under the oppressive 100 degree weather. Little to no fresh water is available. The port-a-potties are overflowing and the smell is nauseating. People who have diabetes and heart conditions are in grave danger.

    “You turn the corner, and then you start to see up here, right, this sea of people just going in two directions,” said Jon Anfinsen, the National Border Patrol Council’s president of the Del Rio region. “You walk through here, and it really feels like another country.”

    Now, we are not here to argue pro or con on immigration. We are not here to debate public policy. We are not here to reflect on a nation’s responsibility (or lack thereof) in regards to foreign peoples seeking sanctuary. We leave that to the politically erudite.

    What we are here to look at is the responsibility of the believer in God when it comes to caring for the stranger. And scripture is not ambiguous when it comes to that.

    Our texts from above - just a very select few - remind us (command us) to love the stranger. We are to welcome them and treat them as if they are citizens of our land. In other words, even as we were strangers and were welcomed by the Native Americans when we first came to the New Country, so we are to welcome and help the new migrants who come to our shores for freedom and a new life.

    It is Jesus’ words in Matthew 25 that should give us the most pause. Whatever we do for someone else we have done for him. Those are sobering words. Have you ever considered something nice you did for someone else to be just the same as if you had done it for Jesus? Maybe some of us have. Or, at the very least, we have kept his commandment to love one another.

    More to the point, however, is the antithesis to the positive understanding of Jesus’ statement. To put it another way: When we do something bad to another person it’s just as if we had done it to Jesus. Ouch. Let that sink in for a few minutes.

    We are not certain as to what the answer is to the border crisis - if there truly is an answer. One yells, “Send them all back!” Another cries, “Let them all in!”

    Right now there are more than 14,000 human beings located beneath a bridge in hot Val Verde county in Southwest Texas: Women. Children. Elderly. Strong young men. Hopeful young women. Each person who shows up is given a ticket - much like you would be given to ride something at the County Fair. Randomly throughout the day, an agent will call 50 ticket numbers. The ticket-holders can board a white coach bus to a federal processing facility. That’s it. Nothing else.

    And who knows what is next. All we can do is welcome the strangers in our lives as Christ welcomed us into his kingdom. Look after one another. Be kind. Love.

    I’m (Steve) reminded of a moment in July when they were redoing our street. There were about seven people sitting on our sidewalk in the heat of the day. Male, female, red, yellow, black, white and brown. The fresh asphalt was steaming. The sweat was pouring. We didn’t know these people from “Adam’s house cat.” Missy marches right into the house, loads my arms with cold water and Twinkies (DO NOT TOUCH MY TWINKIES!) and sends me out to a group of strangers, sitting on my sidewalk, leaning on my lawn - and give them the water and Twinkies.

    Needless to say, they were more than glad to take the offerings from my hands. Smiles were shared. Thank you’s were uttered several times. And the stranger was cared for.

    Who’s gonna get your Twinkies today?

   Steve and Missy