Home Invasions!

Today we celebrated one of our 'church lady' friend's birthdays at lunch.  It's always fun to surprise a friend with a small present and mini-cake with a candle.  Meg was quite pleased!

Non-stop chatting with friends always involves asking how each other's various family members are getting along.  We know most of the family members.  Mary Beth mentioned that recently she has had three acquaintances whose marriages have ended over the excessive and inappropriate internet usage of their spouses.

Mary Beth analyzed that a person would never know with whom their spouse might be 'chatting' online.  "It's like there's this person you don't know in your kitchen.  Would you invite a stranger into your kitchen?"

Just as there are no perfect people among us, there are no perfect marriages.  Every single one of our marriages is vulnerable to outside temptations, EVERY ONE!  In fact, we also are vulnerable to outside temptations! The evil one, the devil, never gives up trying to lead us astray.  "It" knows where we are weakest, and always tries to make evil look good to us.

Are you lonely?  Meet someone online.  They will sympathize with you.  You can cry on their electronic shoulder.  Maybe you will get to know them so well you will want to meet them in person. They certainly will wholeheartedly agree with you that your spouse is a true jerk (oh, dear, you DID exaggerate a bit about his or her bad qualities, didn't you?). Gee, they may live a thousand miles away.  Would you send them money so they can come see you?  Would you spend money and use your well-deserved vacation to visit them?  Gee, well, they might tell you that the beautiful photo they downloaded to you, well, wasn't actually their own photo, well, it was their sister or their friend or really them - twenty years ago.

Anyone can easily get a Facebook or other chat room accounts using any name.  Personally I knew three high school girls who chatted with this really nice guy just several years older than them, or so they thought.  He wanted to meet them in person, even though they didn't live in the same town. They're weren't too sure about doing that, waited longer than he wanted to respond and he started stalking them!  After a couple of months of being afraid, one of them told a parent.  Turns out, the creep was a lot older than them and HAD PREVIOUSLY SPENT JAIL TIME FOR STALKING!  The end result was that the girls' parents got together, told the police, hired an attorney, and the stalker is now in jail for that crime at this very moment.

It doesn't matter how responsible you think your children are, nor how old they are.  They are immature.  Do not let them have Facebook accounts or internet unless you're in the same room with them.  Sure, you want them to fit in with their friends.  You want them to be able to communicate with you if they're in trouble.  Get them a phone that's only a phone, not a fancy one with internet.  Better your children feel a little bit like 'nerds' than a victim of a stalker, as the girls above almost were!!!

This blog reported "Divorce Causes, #1: FACEBOOK!" on January 13, 2014.  I'll repeat a really important paragraph from it. "You know what they say, "play with fire and you WILL GET BURNED!!  Online 'flirting' by those in committed relationships is even more dangerous, sinister, and positively evil than in-person flirting because: 1) the Instant Nature of this type of communications: you hit that 'enter' key and the whole world knows what's going on in your life,  2)
 the Impersonal Nature  of Facebook: regardless of the name, you are NOT face-to-face, all sorts of misrepresentation - lying - can and does go on, and 3) the Consequences of this flirting risk are just as bad as any cheating: ripped-apart families, fatherless or motherless children, poverty, PURE PAIN!!"

Then there are the 'gamers,' those who play endless hours of online games, trying to improve their 'scores.'  Is this harmless?  Not if it takes precious time away from your family, time away from those who love you!  Don't get caught up in the poisonous spider web of 'gaming!'

Look out for signs of excessive and inappropriate internet use in your own family.  Don't let it progress to an unbearable situation where divorce is the apparent answer.  Talk to your spouse directly.  Go to counseling.  It's worth trying to fix a sad situation!

Dear Lord, you know we ask your help daily, here we are again.  The Internet which you have allowed us to invent can be put to good uses.  Help us use all our 'stuff' for wholesome ends.  Thank you, once again!