I'm not a fan of Mark Zuckerberg and have written a number of posts over the years on Facebook and my disdain for the concept. It has taken narcissism to heights never before imagined outside of possibly Biblical prophesy. I think that the good, if there is any, is outweighed by the bad by probably more than ten to one, but today isn't one of those posts. I hate to admit it but there may be one thing that I actually like about the boy wonder, multi-billionaire and Chairman and CEO of Facebook.
For the last five years he gave a challenge to himself for the coming year. One challenge was to wear a tie to work every day of the year, Apparently he wanted to get away from the tee shirt persona that Facebook had been tagged with. Another year he vowed to eat only meat that he himself had killed. He challenged himself in yet another year to meet one new person a day who did not work for Facebook, and last year he determined to learn Mandarin. I've read where he is serious in these challenges and actually gave a 30 minute interview in this Chinese dialect.
Considering the negative effect that Facebook has had on an already self-serving culture, I am still a little bit skeptical about these challenges although on face value they seem the opposite of his social media ventures. His latest yearly challenge was announced last week and it's the most interesting yet but with both great potential for good and great potential for harm. His challenge to himself and to anyone and everyone who so desires is to finish one new book every two weeks.
Friends, we have become a culture hypnotized by the pixels on many and various screens. We tend to learn differently from the image than from the written word. I can see this very clearly in politics and in Christianity. Ever since John Kennedy turned the tide in his race with Richard Nixon because his was a handsome clean shaven face shown to Americans on television while Nixon looked like he needed a shave, we have increasingly become entranced with looks in choosing our leaders. Both the Clintons and the Obamas were attractive couples that had absolutely nothing of value to offer aside from magazine covers. In Christianity, we often fall for the smooth talker on the television with an expensive or stylish suit and an impressive set and celebrity guests, over the invaluable treasure troves of older Christian literature that lay out the majesties of our God in ways that upon reading these books the mind cannot but be humbled.
Mr. Zuckerberg asked for suggestions and received 50,000 responses but what books will he pick? Most will probably be of the Oprah variety. Actually only one good book would be needed to help the readers. Case in point: I have related this story before. I believe that it was 1982. I had read two classic non-fiction works in succession. Both were powerful arguments against belief in God. Both books captivated me. One, I tore in two in order to be able to have some of it in my back pocket at all times. The books were Eric Hoffer's 1951 classic The True Believer and the other, Ernest Becker's 1973 Pulitzer Prize winning The Denial of Death. I'm convinced that God put these reads on my agenda when He did because He wanted me primed to reject anything about God before he put Josh McDowell's Evidence That Demands A Verdict in my hands.
Note: There is a sizable amount of criticism on the Internet for Josh McDowell's Evidence That Demands A Verdict. Way too late! I opened God's Word after reading Evidence and have praised Him for His grace and mercy through His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, thanked Him for His blessings, and never closed for any amount of time, His words on a page, in book form, God breathed and opened to me by His Holy Spirit, for 33 years now!
For the last five years he gave a challenge to himself for the coming year. One challenge was to wear a tie to work every day of the year, Apparently he wanted to get away from the tee shirt persona that Facebook had been tagged with. Another year he vowed to eat only meat that he himself had killed. He challenged himself in yet another year to meet one new person a day who did not work for Facebook, and last year he determined to learn Mandarin. I've read where he is serious in these challenges and actually gave a 30 minute interview in this Chinese dialect.
Considering the negative effect that Facebook has had on an already self-serving culture, I am still a little bit skeptical about these challenges although on face value they seem the opposite of his social media ventures. His latest yearly challenge was announced last week and it's the most interesting yet but with both great potential for good and great potential for harm. His challenge to himself and to anyone and everyone who so desires is to finish one new book every two weeks.
Friends, we have become a culture hypnotized by the pixels on many and various screens. We tend to learn differently from the image than from the written word. I can see this very clearly in politics and in Christianity. Ever since John Kennedy turned the tide in his race with Richard Nixon because his was a handsome clean shaven face shown to Americans on television while Nixon looked like he needed a shave, we have increasingly become entranced with looks in choosing our leaders. Both the Clintons and the Obamas were attractive couples that had absolutely nothing of value to offer aside from magazine covers. In Christianity, we often fall for the smooth talker on the television with an expensive or stylish suit and an impressive set and celebrity guests, over the invaluable treasure troves of older Christian literature that lay out the majesties of our God in ways that upon reading these books the mind cannot but be humbled.
Mr. Zuckerberg asked for suggestions and received 50,000 responses but what books will he pick? Most will probably be of the Oprah variety. Actually only one good book would be needed to help the readers. Case in point: I have related this story before. I believe that it was 1982. I had read two classic non-fiction works in succession. Both were powerful arguments against belief in God. Both books captivated me. One, I tore in two in order to be able to have some of it in my back pocket at all times. The books were Eric Hoffer's 1951 classic The True Believer and the other, Ernest Becker's 1973 Pulitzer Prize winning The Denial of Death. I'm convinced that God put these reads on my agenda when He did because He wanted me primed to reject anything about God before he put Josh McDowell's Evidence That Demands A Verdict in my hands.
Note: There is a sizable amount of criticism on the Internet for Josh McDowell's Evidence That Demands A Verdict. Way too late! I opened God's Word after reading Evidence and have praised Him for His grace and mercy through His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, thanked Him for His blessings, and never closed for any amount of time, His words on a page, in book form, God breathed and opened to me by His Holy Spirit, for 33 years now!
