.mono[b]logue.

Friendster - evil??

T seems to think that Friendster is the work of S.A. Tan. That this is one of his many ploys to draw our attention away from God by stimulating us visually and.. I kinda agree with T.

Hear me out...

I'm aware of the advantages provided by Friendster - search for long lost friends over the internet, share information with one another, get to know people better. It's a great tool to use when you want the attention of a specific group but you're just too lazy to search for their e-mail addresses. A high school reunion, for example. You even get to post pics of yourself so that people can see how you look like.
This is an opportunity to upload pics and post them on the internet.
Think about it.. How often do people get to view pictures of themselves on the internet?
Unless of course they are either models or those 'porn girls' which appear on those XXX websites. And probably only a handful have online photo albums.
Now, most would try to search for any decent looking pictures they have of themselves and start uploading onto their Friendster homepage. Some of them are jokers =p Then there are those who just don't bother. And I'm pretty sure a few would go thru the hassle of clicking away on a digi cam or web cam or whatever other cams which, enables them to transfer pics onto a comp.

At the beginning I especially enjoyed looking at my friend's pictures and my friend's friend's pictures. I guess that was what I did when I had nothing else better to do. And then I would go like "What a small world..." kinda thing.
Anyway, as people get more involved in Friendster their pics become more err.. revealing.
Note: I'm not generalising here. I have come across a few and am merely stating my opinion.
It's only human to want to dress to impress, especially girls (I do that too, at times *grin*) and I don't think there's anything wrong with that unless.. you show more than you're suppose to. This is the very thing that S.A. Tan uses to distract us from God. Sexy poses and wearing not alot of cloth will definitely incite feelings of sexual arousal in some guys. And to me that's not very healthy.
You, reading this would probably think that I'm a freak of some sort since the world is a-okay with exploiting women's body and what not. I've been guilty of dressing inappropriately too. But I have learned that it not only causes our 'brothers' to stumble but people do not respect us because of the way we clothe ourselves. Who in the world doesn't want r.e.s.p.e.c.t?
Anyone can dress up decently and STILL look amazingly good.
Look at Mariah Carey before she divorced 'Mr. Head of Sony Music guy'.
Don't you want to keep your dignity?
Please forgive me if I have offended you at this point.

However, my perspective of friendster being one of S.A. Tan's project sorta shifted when I saw the title 'I am a believer' under the Friendster Bulletin Board posted by Chee Ting.
I double-clicked at it and this appeared.
Message: Christianity Understood
The next time someone says............"I thought you were supposed to be a Christian,"
keep this in mind:
When I say "I am a Christian"... I'm not shouting "I'm clean living!"
I'm whispering, "I was lost; now I'm found and forgiven."
When I say "I am a Christian"... I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble, and need CHRIST to be my guide.
When I say "I am a Christian"... I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak, and need HIS strength to carry on.
When I say "I am a Christian"... I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed, and need God to clean my mess.
When I say "I am a Christian"... I'm not claiming to be perfect,
my flaws are far too visible; but God believes I am worth it.
When I say "I am a Christian"...
I still feel the sting of pain, I have my share of heartaches, and so I call upon His name.
When I say "I am a Christian"... I'm not holier than thou.
I'm just a simple sinner, who received God's good Grace, somehow.
Share this with somebody who already has this understanding, as reinforcement.
But more importantly, share this with those who do not have a clear understanding of what it means to be a Christian, so that the myth that Christians think they are "perfect" or "better than others" can be dispelled.

Inspired by the message, I copied and pasted it under a new title 'I am a Christian' and posted it on the Bulletin Board. And the very next day, I recieved a message by JDMS asking me what it means to be a C+ and what do C+s do !!
Do you know what this means? This means that I didn't have to approach someone to tell him/her about Jesus which, I personally find quite challenging.
God made it so easy for me. He sent someone to me instead of me go looking for someone. Therefore, eventhough I still agree with what T said, I believe that the Lord has the whole world in His hands.
He is the One that defeated death and is the Risen King.
He is the One that takes past hurts, painful experiences and turns them into blessings.
He most certainly can make Friendster a 'sharing the Gospel' site despite the 'flashy, showy skin' part.

Amen !

By the way, I just read a very interesting write up bout what I've been discussing. Head over to The Malaysiana Pings Enjoy :P