07 January 2023
The Internet is one of the greatest blessings and worst curses man has faced. It is utterly impossible to pay attention to everything other people think you should. One of the greatest skills for people researching on the Net is knowing when you should stop reading something and move onto the next item. You should be really grounded in your own sense of calling and mission.
In the end, no one of us could possibly know the truth about everything that affects us. There are plenty of things you don't need to explore in order to know what God wants you to do about them. That has nothing to do with whether the thing in question has any value, but whether it's part of your mission. The same goes with people. You cannot possibly hear from everyone, nor everything any one person might have to say. There are a great many famous people for whom I simply don't have time to read their stuff because God Himself steers me away from them.
Let's say this one more time: All you really need to know is how to keep peace with God. If you can do that while utterly oblivious to most of the rest of the world, good for you. Your life will be simpler and your time on earth more pleasant. I say this as someone who reads constantly and very widely, and I've traveled a good bit to other countries. In one sense, you aren't missing much. Too much stuff can distract you from the Father's purpose. There's an awful lot of stuff I wish I didn't know, things I wish I hadn't seen.
And having come to that place, I am now pretty adamant about ignoring some folks who make a lot of noise on the Net. I am hardly the only guy to say that most videos are a waste of time. Among my readers, friends and family, there are some who often send me links to recommend this or that "must see" video. When I do, I'm often struck with how much time I wasted. The same message could have been shared in writing that I could read in far less time. I have no complaint with music videos, especially for worship. But I can tell you that very few men can deliver a message verbally better than what I could find in writing somewhere. The vast majority of talking videos are not that good.
I've often wished I could grab them by the front of their shirts and shake them, yelling at them to get to the point. Stop the attention whoring!
I'm not going to name names at this point, but a lot of so-called "really good people" with videos out there are a waste of time. I've already fussed about folks who run sites loaded with frankly scamming advertising. Is that how you pay the bills and keep making videos? Get an honest job and stop leeching off of people. They've learned to focus on some particular audience, and most of the time it's evangelical Christians. So these noise makers keep trying to dress up their chatter in terms of serving the Lord.
Maybe you have seen an old film titled Time to Run. You can probably watch it on YouTube for free, but that's not the point. In one scene, the main character picks up a hitchhiker who is a godless freeloader. One of the lessons he learned is to play along with church folks when they offer food. "Praise the Lord ... and pass the mashed potatoes!" That short image of manipulation comes back to me every time I encounter some video huckster who offers nonsense while role-playing a "dynamic faith". It's just an extension of the huckster preachers we all know.
This crap works because churches create an atmosphere for it. When a faith teacher actually teaches faith, it sets you free to pursue the Lord. The last thing they want is to bind you to themselves. You aren't bound to hucksters who demand a share of your income for making familiar sounds. Insert your favorite memes here about churchianity.
If you ask me about specific people, I might be able to answer, but all you will get is my impression. I'm pretty hard on just about all of them. I try to avoid saying their religion is fake unless there's a really good reason for it. By the same token, I should hope you are discerning about my noise. Not everything I post here is worth your savoring. I'm honestly hoping that you don't waste your time hanging around this blog when God moves you to turn away. I can't possibly cover everything you need to know.
As always, I assert that God does lead us all in different directions, some early and some later. God allows us to believe things different from what others believe. Our God is a Person who cannot possibly be the same with each of us, at least not in the details. Our existence in this world is not the final reality, and our conscious awareness is just a manifestation of the eternal spirit trapped in a badly flawed human fleshly nature. The world is a lie. The knowledge in our heads will always be dubious at best. So, it's quite likely that at least part of what I post here is not for you.
How blessed you are if you know when to ignore me.
This document is public domain; spread the message.