“TEACHER, WE KNOW THAT YOU ARE A TRUTHFUL MAN AND THAT YOU ARE NOT CONCERNED WITH ANYONE’S OPINION. YOU DO NOT REGARD A PERSON’S STATUS BUT TEACH THE WAY OF GOD IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TRUTH.” MK 12:13-17
Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.
In today’s technological world we live in, the revealed Truths of Christ found in Scripture are very powerful. The Internet has become many people’s bible or false god. People look for answers to their identity on the Internet instead of praying and learning the Truths Christ revealed. Our identity is found in God, so we need to study what God has revealed, the Truth.
The Words that will never pass away are in the Bible. Ask the Holy Spirit to interpret the Scriptures, who is the love between the Father and the Son. This is where your identity is revealed, what God made you for. Receive God Himself in the Eucharist and be redeemed/restored in Confession as often as needed. The saints often filled their reservoirs of love every day.
There is nothing wrong with new inventions, creativity, or technology. We start to reject God’s laws when we become controlled by the Internet and technological devices or when we misuse them. I have fallen from time to time with misuse and getting caught up in what other’s think. What I have discovered about the Internet is everyone has an opinion about everything including me.
Young people and adults can become confused quickly with so much information constantly changing on the Internet/TV/Social media. Especially, with the alarming amount of time people sit in front of a TV, computer, smart phone, or device. Our beliefs, our creed, and our opinions are constantly being formed by information we allow into our brains. It is important for us to learn the Truth, so we know the Way, and live our lives for God and others in Love!
Why? One day the Internet, TV, and Social Media are going to pass away. Jesus wisely taught us to invest in things that never pass away. We are made for a spiritual homeland. Fr. Mike Schmitz wisely says, “What we believe in is what we belong to and what we belong to is how we live and what we are willing to die for.” What do you belong to? Jesus Christ, he grafted Himself onto you at your baptisme. Jesus is our brand.
We belong to what the Apostles were eyewitnesses of and wrote a Creed that people have been dying for since it was created (and before). It contains the revealed Truths of Christ and has been protected by every pope since Peter. Here are statistics of time spent viewing people’s opinions, entertainment, gaming, millions of pictures, on-line shopping, ordering food, listening to music, and good Catholic content.
Key Internet Usage Statistics
As of 2024, there are 5.44 billion using the Internet worldwide.
- The Average time spent by an internet user globally is 6 hours and 35 minutes daily.
- The number of Internet users is projected to reach 7.9 billion in 2029.
- More than 60% of the internet traffic comes from mobile devices.
- The number of internet users in the United States has reached 323,56 million in 2024.
- Eastern Asia is the leading region with the highest percentage of internet users worldwide.
- The global internet user penetration rate reached 67.1% in April 2024.
- Users aged 25 to 34 years old have the highest percentage of internet usage 35.6%.
- Out of 5.44 billion internet users, 5.07 billion users access social media.
- China is the leading country with the highest number of internet users 1.05 billion worldwide.
- Asia has recorded the highest percentage of internet users globally by region.
Internet and screens are not the problem, it is teaching people how to use them and the difference between Truth with a capital T, reality, what is and human opinion. I woke one day early in the morning and really began to desire the true meaning of life. I didn’t want to wake up one day and find out I had been living life for the wrong reasons. I was tired of being lied to or uneducated. I was seeking my true identity. I was seeking God. He had been putting that void in me for a long time to find Him.
Social Media can easily begin to lead to identity confusion and needing other people’s validation to be confident. If we want to know answers to life’s hardest questions, today kids can look for advice on the Internet although I believe most kids still look to their parents, priests, and teachers for the truth. We can quickly begin to trust strangers if it is more appealing.
I find this to be true not only of people who do not have parents who are involved in their lives but also great parents with good kids who are very involved in their lives. The Internet plays no favorites and has changed our world and our lives dramatically. Most social media use is for entertainment and connecting to people. These are good things, but can also have negative effects.
Why? ”God who created man out of love also calls him to love—the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being.” CCC 1604 We are made for relationships and have a need to be loved and know we are needed. The Internet, good or bad, plays on this fundamental necessity–to feel loved or needed. People connect through these media platforms and being connected is what God is all about.
Facebook was started by a guy who was trying to get back at a girl who dumped him or would not go out with him (relationships). Snapchat was invented for sending inappropriate pictures (people confused in the point of a relationship). Instagram is owned by Facebook. Most social media is made up of human opinion although some people do use it for religious meditations or inspiring quotes. Again, it is a way to connect to others. So, what would Jesus say about the way we use social media today?
Today’s Gospel message could easily be lost on Pharisees and Herodians trying to trip up Jesus, but the bottom line is Jesus is the Truth and He has all of the answers to the questions deep in our heart. He helps us to know who we are and what we are made for-to love. He has no human opinion because He is God. He created us and deals life and death. We may want to spend some solid quiet time listening to what He is trying to tell us in Scripture, prayer, and silence.
It is important to rise each day with His Words, “the Words of everlasting life”. This is where we gain knowledge of Christ’s revealed Word (Divine Revelation) then apply it to our lives and continue the struggle of trying to live it. When we do, it doesn’t matter what people are saying or doing on social media, we know our identity is in our Creator, we are made to love and serve. We are stamped with God’s brand on our souls as a son or daughter of God.
We then begin to use social media to motivate and inspire, build up, not tear down. We don’t rely on it for status and validation. If we are going to use the Internet it is important to follow specific guidelines to keep it from controlling us and filling our minds up with human opinion. Jesus always wins because He is, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life”. Truth is not opinion, facts, theories, or experiments.
The revealed teachings of Christ are Truth, reality, what is and will always be. He promises if we follow His teachings we will have joy, peace, love (being fulfilled-not wanting; knowing exactly what God made you for and using your life to glorify Him), self-control, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, and eternal life for which St. Paul tells us “there is no law against these things”.
Deep down isn’t that what you really want? God wired us this way, so stop fighting it, be vulnerable with God, and give into His love. Jesus wants to be your best friend. So much so that He died to be with you forever and bring you back to the Father. Let Jesus love you.
Today’s challenge: Use the Internet to bring God’s grace to your soul, download the Hallow or Laudate app that contains the daily readings, saint of the day, Liturgy of the Hours, rosary and chaplet, how to make a good confession, stations of the cross, prayers, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, EWTN, Catholic media, and Vatican documents. Watch Rome reports on Youtube to see what Pope Francis is teaching and doing to stay connected with the Shepherd of the Church.
Do an experiment. Fast from social media and see if your life is better or worse. Search for who you are and who God is in the silence of your heart, in prayer, in the Scriptures, and with the human beings God put around you physically not in fantasy land.
Be a servant, be a saint today!
#Christian YOLO
Recent Comments