Social Networking, SMS, & The Good Shepherd
What do you think about Social Networking sites? What about the text-messaging phenomenon among the younger generation?
- A couple days ago I read about a court preparing to hear the case of a woman accused of using MySpace to bully a 13-year-girl, a girl who later committed suicide.
- In April, Fox News ran an article entitled “Trading Nude Photos Via Mobile Phone Now Part of Teen Dating, Experts Say”.
- MSNBC reports “MySpace, Facebook attract online predators / Experts say be careful what you post online — somebody is always watching”
This post could be thousands of words long and go in so many directions. But suffice it to say I think these stories are an indictment on parents. Children are vulnerable. They’re also online in ever-increasing numbers for ever-increasing blocks of time. The same goes for mobile phones; millions of teenagers have mobile phones at their disposal. What are your kids doing online? On their phones? Are you giving them free reign without thinking about the risks?
Jesus refers to Himself as both the Gate and the Good Shepherd in John 10. He is the gate, indicating His role as the protector of the vulnerable sheep. He’s the Good Shepherd, willing to lay down His life for them.
Let’s make sure as parents, ministers, or just believers in general–that we’re ready at the gate to defend the most precious and vulnerable people we know. We should be willing to lay down our lives for them like Jesus did for us. Are you willing to lay your own diversions aside to be a gatekeeper? To be a good shepherd?