Being a GOOD PERSON (VI)

How ‘human progression’ steals, kills, and destroys the produce of healthy, Holy fruit

Being a GOOD PERSON – Part 6 – A world of worries!

Peace.

The word alone sounds tranquil and serene.

Using the definition from the previous section, peace is the wholeness, assurance, confidence, security, and prosperity of soul that comes only from trusting in the Lord alone.

As we proceed through the fruit of the Spirit and review the way human progression–in the form of technology–impacts peace, I want to make it clear yet again: Technology isn’t evil. It’s not the antithesis of peace and it isn’t wrong. It’s just another medium for operating in life; however, it’s the use of technology that’s causing underlying and sometimes inconspicuous issues with the human condition.

In this specific case, phones, apps, and the social media virtual profile are the perpetrators.

There’s also the convenience of on-demand culture through streaming sites and the ease of delivery for anything one could wish…including a person, that unhinges the steadfastness that comes with real peace.

I propose that technology abused in the form mentioned above catalyses, amplifies, and/or illuminates the evil that’s already present in the human heart, halting the cultivation of the Holy Spirit fruit of peace.

If you recall, God makes it clear to us that our heart–the inner man–is corrupted:

The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

In the King James version, the translated words are:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Jeremiah 17:9 KJV

We also have the letter to the Galatians’ description from the apostle Paul, unveiling the human inclination of the flesh:

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19 – 21

The aforementioned are all evident of the flesh at work or a mind that has submitted to the corruption that lies in the human heart.

So, how is this related to human progression and its disruption to the Holy Spirit fruit of peace?

I ask this question: Have you ever queried the intense emergence of busyness, stress, and anxiety in contemporary western society?

From my personal observations, it was as if one day we were suddenly bombarded with ‘busyness’ and its accompanying diseases ‘stress’ and ‘anxiety.’

This assertion is both theoretical and experiential, but it became apparent to me several years ago when I was abstinent from the use of a mobile phone, that there was a link between busyness, anxiety, and stress, and the reliance and dependence on smart phones.

I’ve said this to people many times: Abstinence from a culturally permissible yet potentially harmful activity has wonderful benefits that can only be realised by walking the path of abstinence itself.

Truths that could NEVER have been known without the abstinence, shine out in an area of the mind that prior to the abstinence, would’ve been non-existent.

I’ve experienced this with a long period of abstinence from alcohol where I was granted a clearer mind.

I’ve seen this with sexual immorality in the choice to walk Jesus’ pure path. I witnessed a more selfless part of me open up that I didn’t know existed.

With social media on phones, after initial fears that the world would forget about me and I wouldn’t be able to contact anyone, the abstinence resulted in anxiety and stress falling off me in abundance.

Is it a coincidence that since smart phones dominated our culture, ‘busyness’ increased?

Is it coincidence that declining mental health levels are being associated with social media use?

How often do we go to our phones with a specific intention and get distracted by some other app or notification?

Part of living a healthy, productive, peaceful life is being able to maintain priorities, but the potential for distraction on phones is off the scales.

Does a phone amplify opportunities for the works of the flesh as detailed in the letter to the Galatians? “…sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these…”

I would say, “yes.”

I will give a series of examples of how a phone increases the chances for the works of the flesh in the final revised version of this thesis, but I write all of the above to inspire you to think about your own peace of mind and question: is your peace being obstructed by your phone?

Is that little red dot with a white number in it creating pleasure for you or really stoking the fires of ‘busyness,’ stress, and anxiety?

Being a GOOD PERSON (VI)