"DO NOT CALL?"

I did the grumpy and responsible thing: opted in to the “Do Not Call” (DNC) registry to try to slow down the flood of unwanted solicitor phone calls. But still they came, like a mud slide that keeps oozing down into the abyss of frustration. (Picturesque analogy, right?)
    So, is it worth it? The website explaining the “DNC” rule admits it has “limited effectiveness," as the registry says it mostly targets "legitimate telemarketers" but “may not prevent calls from scammers or robo calls.” Plus, after registering, calls can still come from charities, political groups, surveys, and debt collectors. And, I'd add, mean people who spoof emergency situations.
    I'm glad that God is “on call,” “receiving prayer calls,” and knowing the real thing from the spoofs. Also, that Heaven's phone system (Paradise Phone Co.?) isn't bound by rules and regulations except for those reflecting His love, His presence, and His kindness. I “hear” that between the lines in a Bible verse many have memorized:
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3)
    Like any Bible verse, this one can have its meaning twisted and wrongly used. Historically, it came to Jeremiah while he was imprisoned by a king who didn't like the prophet's negativity. It was God's word of encouragement to a prophet who gave everything he had back to God in obedience, only to end up as a despised prisoner. This message wasn't a current “status report,” but a prophecy of a future nation of joy, peace and abundance, with the gracious, loving rule of a Messiah.
    Bear in mind how fantastic and unbelievable this prophecy must have been back in Jeremiah's time. His 40-year ministry included the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. How badly the people of his time needed a dose of hope!
    The “calls” that Jeremiah and his contemporaries heard from other lands were threatening. Abusive calls. Worse than the “wanna-get-your-valuable-cardit-card-ID” calls that our culture's “junk callers” thrive on. Although it may not happen in my lifetime (though it could), the spam call “system” with its threatening and dubious intentions--along with all the allure and wrongness of fallen culture in general--will someday end with Christ's return. Let's call that 1-800-TOP-HOPE.

WHAT'S WRONG HERE?

Once upon a time, people communicated on things called “land line telephones.”  For the recent generation that grew up with smart/cell phones the size of a deck of cards, that’s probably hard to imagine. These old-fashioned phones needed to be plugged into a special wall outlet which in turn connected to long snakes of “phone lines” either below or above ground. If a phone wasn’t plugged in, you couldn’t get or receive calls.  (Believe it or not, we still have a “land line” in our house!)

So what’s wrong with this picture of two “old” phones? They’re not plugged in.  (See the plug-in at the bottom of the photo.) They can’t send or receive signals.

Thanks to wireless technology, we have new opportunities in communication.  With it have come new problems, like Facebook’s recent admission that its users’ personal information had been hacked.  Those private accounts aren’t really so private any more.

I am not on Facebook, although as a proud grandma (with photos in purse) I certainly would be a good candidate. I know many who use Facebook in healthy ways.  But I also have been a victim of cyberbullying (the accusations were false), and such abuse makes me very careful about any media platform.

I've long been concerned about negative effects of social media, so I wasn’t surprised when I read this report:

“While social media is still too new to gauge its long-term effects on human psychology, a handful of studies seem to confirm conventional wisdom to the effect that social media—including online gaming—can have addictive qualities that are harmful to vulnerable people who over-use the new technologies.” The researcher also observed that “teens who log into Facebook more than average are also more likely to be ‘self-absorbed,’ ‘narcissistic,’ belligerent, paranoid, and—ironically enough—antisocial.” In addition, the author concluded, “I believe excessive social media use is closely related to the sense of incompleteness and insecurity which bedevils many teens (not to mention a good number of adults): like alcohol, tobacco, drugs and sex, it serves to occupy a restless, wandering, attention-seeking personality, which believes itself totally unable to find peace and tranquility on its own terms.” (1)

Another study said that “these constant forums for self-expression could be baiting, even feeding, the symptoms of personality disorders, such as narcissistic personality disorder and borderline personality disorder.”  It’s not surprising, given that both mental health issues seem to crave an audience for sharing every detail of their lives, whether good or bad. (2)

Mental health professionals refer to “emotional intelligence” as a gauge of mental healthiness. Its components include “self-awareness, personal motivation, empathy, and the ability to love and be loved by friends, partners, and family members.”  (3) Authentic face-to-face interaction is involved in building those aspects of personality. In other words, people are connected, like those old-fashioned phones.

I’ve been reading through Proverbs in different translations lately, and am struck by how its timeless sayings can apply even to the pros and cons of modern communication devices, like social media.  On the plus side (those who use it for good):

He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed (Proverbs 11:25)

But on the other hand:

Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him. (Proverbs 29:20)

People-smart and people-sensitive connections do matter, modern technology or not.

(1) https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/155523/social-media-overuse-linked-to-unhealthy-behaviors.html

(2) www.borderlinepersonalitytreatment.com.personality-disorders-social-media.html

(3) Randi Kreger, Essential Family Guide to Borderline Personality Disorder (Hazelden, 2008), p. 54