Vanity Fair (in the palm of your hand)

I spent a portion of Monday on the train to and from the Sydney domestic terminal visiting friends.  As I waited on the platform for the stage to arrive, I surveyed the people to my right and left.  The closest three people on each side of me had their mobile phones in their hands and white earbuds in.  Seemingly without a clue of all around them, these six people were captivated in their own little worlds.  As we entered the train, some people picked up books or newspapers, while the young man who shared my seat played Street Fighter II on his mobile, earbuds blasting.  Taking my cue from my fellow passenger, I pulled out my Kindle to read Bunyan's classic, Pilgrim's Progress.

As I read, I came across the passage where Christian and Faithful come to Vanity Fair (not just a magazine!), a place of debauchery and worldliness.  Bunyan describes in the book:  "And, moreover, at this fair there are at all times to be seen juggling, cheats, games, plays, fools, apes, knaves, and rogues, and that of every kind."  Technology has made it possible that we do not need to go to Vanity Fair anymore to partake in the vain pleasures therein.  We have the potential to hold Vanity Fair in the palm of our hands.  This is not to knock modern technology, or even our reliance upon it.  But in wisdom we must soberly consider the risks technology presents.

I have a degree of control over how I use my mobile and my Kindle.  I can choose to use them as a tool for wholesome communication or for evil.  The same mobile that can alert authorities of an emergency can be used to view pornography.  Technology provides valuable tools when used in their proper place, but I must be willing to ask myself the question:  do modern technological conveniences and the "social networking" of today have control over me?  It used to be that a mobile was only used for work or emergencies, but now they are common among young children!  Mobiles, too often, are the equivalent of a "dummy" (Nuk, pacifier) for a teenager.  Take their phone away or ban them from Facebook and see the tantrums and tears!  Like a junkie looking for a fix, it is common for youngsters to sneak phones from siblings, borrow a mobile from a friend at school or use library computers to update their status.  They say one telltale sign of being an alcoholic is having at least one drink every day.  How hard is it to put down that mobile?  How impossible is it for you to turn off the computer?  Vanity Fair is still around, and the danger remains very real.

Like King Solomon the preacher said, there is nothing new under the sun.  The flesh tends towards every kind of excess to its own destruction.  Sin's high-definition graphics and Dolby surround sound are better than ever.  Be sober and watchful, for your enemy knows your weakness.  Praise God He has provided a Saviour, Jesus Chris,t and the light of the Holy Spirit to shine truth upon our often darkened consciences.  If you children are spending their days in Vanity Fair, may your actions say:  "Not on my watch!"  1 Corinthians 6:12 reads, "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any."  May we all yield to the Holy Spirit's power for the glory of God!