Becoming aware of your thirst and how social media makes an impact

This is the second post tied to my thoughts about a book I got awhile ago called “Inside Out” by Larry Crab. In my first post, I talked about how we have different longings that we strive to have satisfied in our lives and what happens if we don't have them met. In this post, we will discuss how we need to be aware of our deep thirsts in our lives in order to change.

Changing from the inside out means to learn how to drink from the living waters of God's unchanging love so our purpose, identity and joy give us the courage to respond well whether our life is smooth or rocky.

To start taking a look at our life from the "inside out" and make changes, we first must realize and become aware of our thirst. To get free from compulsive things that clutter our lives or habits we cannot seem to break, we must realize our deep thirst. Often, we allow other things or people to become a god in our life.



Watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. (Romans 16:17-18).

When we allow things or others to become a "god" controlling what we do or say, this appetite can take over our lives. We are ripe for being hooked when we stumble unto something that brings a sense of fulfillment to us. People feel alive in midst of consuming pleasure and also when they are in a position of power or receive applause from others. If we are not careful though, the applause and popularity others give us can cloud our vision.

Here is where I feel the addiction of social media can easily become a vice in one's life. I know since I speak from experience in my own life. One tool that has been a challenge for me to manage at times is Twitter. Especially when I have it open. There are times I have to discipline myself to shut it off so it does not continue to distract me as I attempt to work on other things. Let me emphasize "attempt to work" since Twitter delivers a never-ending stream of information from people you follow, it can easily overwhelm you and take over your attention very easily if you allow it. A study I read once said it takes on average 15 minutes for someone to get fully focused on a task. If there are interruptions that takes away our attention, we have to start over and it takes another 15 minutes to start again. If you do this over a course of a day and focus too much on tweets people are sharing or respond to replies/DM's sent your way, you can easily lose a lot of time. Also, evidence has showed that whenever someone acknowledges us either via a retweet of something we shared or via a reply or direct message to us directly, our brains are triggered to give off feelings of pleasure. We feel happy and valued when we are known by others. No wonder tweets and other social media tools can draw our attention so easily since we feel pleasure from reading and interacting with others. I have reduced the number of people I am following in an attempt to help me manage the "noise" that is always flowing in Twitter. Most of those who I follow reside in Kansas City, Lawrence, or nearby and one reason they make up the majority of people I follow is because I have met them in real life or I want to meet them in the near future.

I am not knocking that we should not use Twitter or other social media tools during our workdays, etc., but encouraging us to make sure we don't allow these tools to become like a "god" in our lives. Believe me, I am still learning how to better manage my time using Twitter, etc., since I absolutely love how easily you can interact and connect with people on there and that is something I enjoy very much. It is in my blood to interact and help people online. Now, if using social media is part of your job, then by all means use it to interact and help others, but make sure to take breaks from it during your time away from work since you can easily burn out from using social media all the time.

Now, with the increase in smartphones and location-based applications, we are even more attached to devices that allow us to be connected and "check-in" to digest information, talk with people or meet friends at places. I can see in the future where everything in our life will be documented (where we go, who we see, what we do) and it will be available online for anyone to view. Technology is available to us 24/7 with smartphones we have now. For that reason alone plus others, I do not have a smartphone. The only things I can do on my cellphone is make calls, receive and send out text messages and take photos. Remember when phones only made calls? :-) I suspect with time, I will end up getting a smartphone if a job I have requires it, but for now, I don't have one so I can focus on being present fully with those I am with. Which reminds me, how many times have you been to a "tweetup" or get-together with others and noticed many have their eyes focused on their smartphone screen as they send out a tweet, post a picture, or post a Facebook status update to document what they are doing and where they are?? What happened to being fully present and focused on those you are meeting? We are a documenting, show the world where we are society now.

In conclusion, ensuring your deep thirst is satisfied means we need to focus more on allowing God to help us change from the "inside out" and less on what people think or say we should do via social media tools. Being outdoors and out of reach is one great way to remove yourself from the constant call of technology when you need a break. This is one way I restore my soul and take a refresher in life when needed. Take time to draw close to God and allow Him to satisfy your longings in life.

How do you satisfy the deep thirst in your life? Share in the comments if you wish.