Web-maniac

How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. The highway of the upright turns aside from evil; whoever guards his way preserves his life. Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud. Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD. The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness. (Proverbs 16:16-21 ESV). I have to admit I'm a bit of a web-maniac. I was reading a book the other day, the paper kind, and I caught myself trying to scroll to the next page! I've heard that there are folks out there who are even much more computer-obsessed than I am. You might be one of them if you've discovered you can't let a TV commercial pass without checking your email. If you can turn your keyboard upside down and shake out enough food crumbs for a seven-course meal, I'd say you're dangerously close to web-obsession. If mousework persistently wins out over housework, or if you realize you haven't left the house since the last big sale on Amazon, you just might be a compulsive clicker. When your only muscles are in your fingers, or when you find yourself heading for bed and tell your spouse that your screen saver is about to kick in, it's probably time to think about a 12-step program! No matter what stage of web-compulsion we're experiencing, it's always good to remember that it's easy to "get beached" surfing the net. There are sneaky sites lurking, waiting to pounce. We need to be ready to unplug - to run, even sprint, from the worldly things that seek to pull us down. There is safety and life when we learn to run from evil influences and run to Christ. There are wonderful opportunities and amazing abilities stemming from our entrance into the Computer Age. The information highway has proven to be a powerful tool for sharing God's Word. We simply need to make sure we stay on the upright highway and use our computer power for good and not evil. This is the wisdom of Solomon in our reading this morning. I like the Contemporary English Version of verse 16: "God's people avoid evil ways, and they protect themselves by watching where they go." We can avoid evil and protect ourselves by watching where we go and by watching where we go on the net. We need to make sure the time we spend (and the amount of time we spend) on the computer is God-honoring. And if we get to the place where we've never seen any of our best friends' faces, it might be time to rethink the 12-step program idea.