Confessions of a Reddit addict

I have a confession.
Ever since my friend Tom introduced me to Reddit, I have been addicted.

The more I read, the more I fear for our neighbours to the south.

To help you understand my thoughts you need to know 2 things:
1. The Biblical story of Rehoboam in 1 Kings 12
2. The progressive and cynical culture of 20 something atheistic redditors.

Here is the parallel. Rehoboam is offered a most amazing position; King of the nation after Solomon.
The Bible calls Solomon the wisest man in history. As such he probably had the best of advisors.
He probably left his successor a kingdom in fairly good condition. Few young men have had so much handed to them as Rehoboam.

Rehoboam and his friends must have been enamored with their new power and position. They were now in charge.
They were NOT going to do what the old guys said. The immediate outcome is a divided kingdom and a narrowly averted civil war.
After that, civil war raged continually between the kings of Israel and Judah (1 Kings 14:30)

Here are some parallels I see via reddit and other social media.
We have been handed a most amazing position - power and wealth we did not work for.
For all our faults, our system of government gives more opportunities to more people than any other.
We have a choice between wise advisors and young advisors. (Rehoboam was about 40 when he gained power)
We are enamored with our power and position. As often as not, the news media is being scooped by social media.
We keep on choosing rashly.

look at some examples
Sunil Tripathi, misidentified in the Boston bombing found dead
- http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/family-sunil-tripathi-misidentified-boston-bombing-finally-mourn-192140187.html

Rehtaeh Parsons
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/19/rehtaeh-parson-adam-barnes_n_3119767.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/12/anonymous-suspect-confession-rehtaeh-parsons-rape_n_3070615.html

These are the tip of the iceberg. We are in love with our new power. We are going to use it.
It will happen again and again as we become the bullies we claim to dispise.

We need to learn wisdom and patience.
We need to learn that NOT ALL EVIDENCE IS A CLICK AWAY.
Jumping to conclusions too quickly is unwise.

For reference - here is the story from 1 Kings 12

1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 3 And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, 4 “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” 5 He said to them, “Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away.

6 Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” 7 And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” 8 But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” 10 And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs. 11 And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, “Come to me again the third day.” 13 And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, 14 he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

The presence of God

In reading "Practice of the Presence of God: The Best Rule of Holy Life" I am reminded that it is something I should do every year.

I love the quote in the "second conversation" [chaper 2?] where he says :

That when an occasion of practising some virtue offered, he addressed himself to GOD, saying, LORD,I cannot do this unless Thou enablest me; and that then he received strength more than sufficient. That when he had failed in his duty, he only confessed his fault, saying to GOD, I shall never do otherwise, if You leave me to myself; ’tis You must hinder my falling, and mend what is amiss. That after this, he gave himself no further uneasiness about it.

It is a great reminder of :

1> I can only do it with God's help.

2> I will always mess up when I'm on my own.

3> Only God can make me get it right.

Got to start somewhere

Hey All 

(ok maybe I am talking to myself)

This is a first post to get things started.

I have been reading Gary Nelson's book called Borderland Churches and I want to suggest it for people who love Jesus church and want to love their community.

On Page 36 Gary opened my eyes and got an emotion response [this is a good thing] when he told how the people in our community are no more likely to drop into church for a casual visit then I am to drop into a mosque or a gay bar for a casual visit.  "One wouldn't quite know how to behave, and may wonder what other people may think" . . . 

Give me some comments on the quote above, [or better yet read a part of the book online at the above link]