Several months ago, God laid it on my heart to purge all of my social media accounts. Bye-bye Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. It wasn’t easy to do because I knew I’d be losing photos and connections I’ve acquired throughout the years but I would be gaining something much more valuable in return – a distraction-less relationship with God.
I didn’t realize how much time I wasted on social media until it was gone. When I got bored, I often found myself unlocking my iPhone to open the Facebook app but the app wasn’t there. The screen time statistics that I automatically receive every Sunday morning saw major improvements as well. When I think about how much time I wasted on social media and the amount of time others waste every single day on meaningless activities, I can’t help but think of the infamous words from the author of Ecclesiastes – VANITY OF VANITIES, ALL IS VANITY.
“The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun?” Ecclesiastes 1:1-3 NKJV
We tend to think of vanity as a woman having excessive pride in her appearance and spends many hours looking at herself in the mirror; however, vanity has a deeper meaning. The Hebrew word for vanity is the word hebel which is defined as emptiness, vain, or a vapor of breath. Vanity can also be thought of as something that is fleeting, temporary and has no eternal value.
Our lives are extremely short in comparison to eternity (James 4:14). Almost everyone understands that time is relatively short and we have to make the most of it. YOLO, which stands for You Only Live Once, is the mantra of many thrill seeking individuals who push the envelope to the limits. YOLO is often associated with sinful activities such as having one night stands and getting plastered at parties. Most Christians understand YOLO-ing is irresponsible and a complete waste of potential but how little do Christians know that they still squander their lives away indulging in meaningless entertainment that has no eternal value.
I know young Christian men who waste countless hours watching sports on the television and play fantasy games on their Playstation and X-Box’s. I’ve dated Christian women who couldn’t go more than an hour without checking Instagram and Snapchat and had unhealthy obsessions with filthy shows like The Office and Game of Thrones. Now I’m not trying to say I am better than everyone else. I used to waste many hours playing Destiny on the Playstation and rewatching my favorite movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe but the Lord dealt strongly with me on these things and I have chosen to obey the Lord by removing these distractions from my life. (I wrote about this in previous blog posts entitled: Idols of the Modern Age and Idols of the Modern Age – Part 2). I have come to the realization that life is too precious to waste indulging in meaningless entertainment. I’ve been on the other side and I encourage my brothers and sisters to be good stewards with your time!
We are truly living in some unusual times. We are in the midst of a global pandemic, outrage and rebellion has filled the streets of our inner cities, lies and false narratives are spun by the media and people have utter hatred for one another. We are literally seeing Matthew 24 and 2 Timothy 3:1-5 being played out before our very eyes! The return of Jesus Christ is soon and time is running out! We cannot afford to be distracted anymore by the things of this world. A life well-lived isn’t defined by the places you’ve visited, the feats you’ve accomplished nor by the amount of likes you’ve accumulated. These things are but a vapor in the wind. But a life well-lived is a life spent in the presence of Jesus, a life that laid up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21) and a life that fought the good fight and kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
The other day I was over at my mom’s apartment and I noticed she had a hand-written note left under her TV remote. Out of curiosity, I lifted up her TV remote and read what the note had said – “STAY IN HIS PRESENCE.” I later asked her about that note and she told me it was a reminder for her to stay in prayer any time she had the urge to turn on the TV. What an amazing way to remind ourselves how much more important it is to stay in God’s presence!
The days of Noah that Jesus described in Matthew 24:37-39 are upon us. Christians pursue community and each other more than they pursue God. If I can encourage my fellow brothers and sisters to do one thing, it’s that you pursue GOD. Pursue Him with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. Let us not be like the writer of Ecclesiastes who at the end of their life had nothing but regret. Let us live life to the fullest for Jesus and bring in the harvest that is ripe for the picking. Let us all hear the six greatest words that any person could ever hear – “WELL DONE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT.”
Joshua Hawk 