I just finished a movie entitled “Surrogates” starring Bruce Willis. Upon finishing the movie some thoughts came to me regarding how the movie relates to modern society. If you are not familiar with the movie, the plot centers around a futuristic world of remote controlled machines called surrogates. The surrogates look, sound, and function in the same way that humans do all while allowing the human “operators” to stay in the safety and comfort of their own homes. The story unfolds to show these surrogates implemented en masse transforming the culture into a practically danger-free environment. Overall, it is an intriguing premise but I do not want to go into the finer details of the story. What I would like to do, however, is point out how such an idea is truly the logical end of the extreme Facebook usage so often seen today.
I would like to preface my observations by saying that I do not think Facebook is evil and I doubt one would conclude such a thing after following a link to this post from Facebook. My only purpose is to point out how we must use Facebook in moderation just like anything else. It is an excellent tool to keep in touch with friends that we might otherwise never be able to. That being said, abusing that tool is still a very real danger.
I think what hit home to me when I saw this movie was that the people operating the surrogates were people trying to create and live that ever illusive “perfect life.” The entire idea is based around physically perceived beauty and what the world thinks is attractive. The film portrays a beautiful society filled with perfect looking people while the imperfect operators veiled their true identities. Living such a life leaves no room for true experience, perceiving emotion, or being able to just “be there” for someone. In reality, it leaves no room to see past a person’s imperfections and see them for who they really are. What kind of life is that? The answer is: It’s not. It is an illusion, a virtual or even alternate reality of sorts.
What’s my point? Well, the same can be said for Facebook when it is improperly used. How often do we try to create an image of ourselves, rubbing out or omitting the imperfections? In the past days and weeks I have been considering that very idea as it applies to my own life. I sometimes hesitate to post certain things because I do not want to create a counterfeit image of myself; I do not want to create an affectation of myself. I want to be just as genuine in real life as I am on Facebook or in any other environment.
Though such genuineness does have its personal benefits, it should be noted that the real motive should not be centered on self. Our real motive should be that we are representing Christ. Ephesians 2:6 tells us that God has “made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” It is that truth that demands a genuineness of life. To misrepresent who we are is to misrepresent Christ because we are in Christ. Furthermore, I Corinthians 6:19 asks the question “know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” Verse 20 then tells us that we “are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” To put it succinctly, our body (and how we portray it) is not our own, it is God’s and to misrepresent that is to misrepresent God.
God did not save us because we are perfect. If we were perfect we would not need to be saved. In fact, it is our imperfection and our need for a Savior is something that gives God glory. That being true, we do not need to cover our imperfections but glory in the fact that God can use us in spite of those imperfections. We do not need to put on false airs to impress our friends, we need to put on the genuine lifestyle of who we are in Christ to reach a dying world. May we never get sucked into Satan’s trap of “perceived beauty.”
Please feel free to contribute if you have any further thoughts.
