It’s easy when we’re asking about a light, or the TV. A little less so with air conditioning! It gets a lot harder with social media, specifically Facebook. Since a blog is a personal reflection on what is hopefully an issue in common with the readers, I will revisit this issue. I de-activated my FB account about a month ago, trying to break or wean myself off the habit. It does get addictive, doesn’t it?

Honestly, I think very few people delight in the constant bashing of other’s viewpoints; it simply reveals some deep-seated, unresolved emotional issues. The deep, dark corners of our humanity often get the best of us. We can vent without it being face-to-face. So, even though my account is “deactivated”, I am still able to log onto it and read everything just like before. I’m admittedly not “off.” I have gotten better at trying to think before I click. But I do miss it, and I do get that Facebook can be a medium for good, positive, even lovingly confronting.

What does it mean to be “off”? We usually mean that we are having a bad day, or going through some private emotional uncertainty. People close to us can tell. There is a disconnect. For me, it is profoundly remarkable that even such sobering thoughts that we have about ourselves are completely, intimately understood by Jesus. To illustrate (and I apologize for yet another movie reference), in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”, Spock dies in sacrificing himself to save the crew and the Enterprise. In his eulogy for his Vulcan friend, Captain Kirk gets choked up as he says, “of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most human.”

Jesus was the most human being to ever live. He longed for things. He cried. He laughed. Do you see how profound it is that even Jesus, the Son of the Most High God, could be “off”? We are all unique, captivating human creations. Whether I or any of us “do” Facebook; who really cares? What does it really matter? We are under no obligation to always be “on”, as in outwardly happy because we do not wish to reveal our pain. There is grace in being kind, apologizing when we know we have hurt someone. Be good to yourself, whether you’re “on” or “off”, and remember that God loves you unconditionally. Amen.

Pastor Art