DISCLAIMER #1 : So, i’m not saying this is a permanent decision. I may return to facebook one day. In fact, I can do that knowing that my details would not have been erased, because Facebook doesn’t actually “delete” your account. It just “deactivates” it, hoping you come crawling back one day.
DISCLAIMER #2: This is my decision. I’m neither saying you should or should not quit facebook yourself. I’m just saying why I’m going to deactivate my account. So if you decide to do the same, don’t blame me. 😛
Aafter much deliberation, I am going to deactivate my facebook account this Friday 28 May.
No, i’m not doing it because i want to have a Facebook free bank holiday weekend. I’m not doing it because i have an issue with their privacy policy. I’m not doing it because i don’t like Mark Zuckerberg and think he might be a seedy fellow. I’m also not quitting because i’m addicted to facebook. really.
So why am I quitting facebook?
This week’s sermon, I talked about refuge. Finding refuge in God. Letting him be my place of safety and of rest. Over the past year, God’s been trying to get my attention about how distant I’ve become from him.
My character, my personal flaws, my insecurities and weaknesses all still have a hold on me. And although I have toyed around with getting rid of them, or changing my character, I’ve never seriously, for a prolonged period of time, found refuge in God, and let him deal with those issues.
I turned 36 this year. I glimpsed ahead and wondered whether I’d still be full of the same character holes in my life when I turned 40. Which is only 4 years away. And it dawned on me, that unless I get serious about these things, I may never seriously begin the process of transformation that God so desperately wants to do in my life. In many ways, I’m settling for squatting outside the promised land, instead of finding refuge in God, and letting him resettle me properly.
Now, facebook isn’t the cause of my problems. In fact, I’m not even a heavy facebook user. But it is still something that is occupying mental space and physical time, that as my offering to God, I’m giving to Him instead. I cannot go to facebook as my place of refuge. It will never satisfy or fulfil. I’m asking God to speak to me in new ways, and challenge me in new ways as well.
There is currently a lot of complaints about Facebook and privacy rights. But for myself, Facebook is one of those things i’ve allowed to invade my private space with God. Because of that, if i hope to find refuge in God, it begins with saying goodbye to facebook.
Like i said, this may not be a permanent decision. But it will last until God says it’s okay to jump back in. It may be a weekend (doubtful) or it may be never. At any rate, I can’t hear God clearly until I clear the noise around my life.
Why am I posting this on the BCEC blog and my facebook wall? Because I realise that currently lots of people use facebook to ask me things, or drop me a message, or ask me for a lift. If you want to get in touch with me now, you’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way : Email. Or face to face. 🙂
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These were some thoughts about the eighteenth episode in our series on Joshua. You can find all the the messages as well as the worship at the BCEC Sermon Page or or listen to the sermon directly – Joshua 20.