I’m a girl born in the mid-20th century so I must confess to being somewhat intimidated by technology. The information super highway doesn’t have enough off-ramps for me. I frequently find myself stuck in the HOV lane of internet navigating with no way to merge out of the flow back to the safety of snail mail and paying bills with a paper check.
The internet offers research at our fingertips. However, temptations, sin and guilt can be had in a few keystrokes as well. For example, today I received an email proclaiming some sort of National Day of celebration. I’m not sure which one, Best Friends, Girlfriends or Sisters. Who knows?
These kinds of emails get me every time because they’re frequently filled with pictures of adorable puppies or yawning babies. I’m a sucker for those. I don’t mind the emails laced with bits of trivia reminding me of simpler times. They make me long for childhood and those days before Yahoo, Wii tennis and telephones that don’t require a Computer Engineering degree and double-jointed thumbs.
The common denominator of these emails is they usually end with some kind of prayer for the salvation and protection of all mankind and the dreaded threat of doom. You know the one — a guarantee of 11 years of bad luck if I don’t forward to 15 friends within the next 14 minutes.
On the flip side, they’re filled with promises of unexpected blessings for something spectacular at this time tomorrow if I forward to everyone I know. These emails are peppered with curses that flood me with feelings of guilt if I simply hit “delete.”
For a nanosecond I’m tempted beyond reason and fantasize about a cash award arriving in tomorrow’s mail. Just think, I can pay off my credit card and take that dream vacation to Europe so I can eat my weight in cheese while visiting France.
Thankfully before I’ve mentally spent my entire windfall, the voice of wisdom breaks through my fantasies. Scripture starts flooding my brain: Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart, and my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Regardless of how guilty these emails hope to make me feel, MY HOPE is in Christ Jesus and not the whim of internet email forwarding. Jeremiah 29:11 says: “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Chain letters cannot bring me good luck. A Google search won’t tell me what the future holds. I’m smart enough to Seek ye first the kingdom of God. I’m not afraid to exercise the power of the delete button which has an added bonus of sending my trash into cyber space. Technology … I don’t always understand it but I know enough to dare to delete when necessary. Gotta love it!
Blessings,
Kathy Kurlin
www.kathleenkurlin.com
Thank you for helping me feel less guilty when I delete.
🙂
A lot of these chain letters are also filled with viruses for unsuspecting people who open them and then forward them. One of the most popular is the one that tells you 95% of the people will not forward this and tell others they love Jesus. This chain letter has been forwarded a thousand times and the one you open may have a trojan horse virus embedded that enacts when you forward it. So not only do you feel guilty for not forwarding something that says you love Christ but you also infect your computer.
Love the puppies, but as soon as the message of loom and doom begins I have NO qualms about hitting delete! I love you, Kathy, and your insightful, witty and beautiful writing style. (But you already knew that, hah?)