All the world’s a stage and all the men and women are merely players

 

The online world has become a stage—for me and many others.  Most days I experience life with one eye on social media That’s a cute blog idea; that’s a great Facebook post; this is a great Twitter picture. I’ve even caught myself doing it as I read the Word – ooh, I should put that verse on Facebook. There’s certainly nothing wrong with posting scripture on Twitter, Facebook or anywhere you would like, but for me this is about my mindset — it’s wrong.  Instead of looking for what God wants to show me, I’m  busy gleaning life for snappy updates and blog worthy moments.

I subject my family and friends to being players on my stage. Fortunately, my girls were teenage and young adult when I started on this journey or  I would have posted every cute comment, embarrassing moment and milestone for all the world to see.  I would have cast them as players in my very own production of ‘My Life – Online.’   Sure, we’d have a wonderful catalog of blog posts to look back on, but at what cost.

Certainly, my blog, facebook, and twitter are tools for communicating, but they are not extensions of my existence. Everything I do isn’t fodder for public consumption and I’m sure the public appreciates me for that.  So why do I catch looking for what I can share with the masses?

Some days it seems that I’m a director looking for the perfect image to capture the moment.  I’m the editor looking for that snappy headline to drive home the point or the writer trying to find the best words to evoke the emotion.  I need to be more in the moment and not above the moment.  I need to be more invested in the experiences of this life, present in the emotions, available to the people in my life  and not a player on a stage (no matter what Shakespeare said.)

Why do I want to share my life online?  Do I have some great wisdom or knowledge to share?  Do I want to just live my life out loud and very public?  Or do I want to be loved by the masses?

If my life is truly  about glorifying God and my passion is Christ,  why do I court the favor of my man or more specifically, my online friends?

What about you?  How do you manage to keep the online part of your life in the proper perspective?  I would love to hear your suggestions and ideas.