Caveat emptier: This post was drafted with help from an AI assistant (Perplexity)— but ideated and edited extensively by the human, Bill Acton.
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You have heard it said,
“Your life is what you do with your hands and feet.”
But I say to you:
your life today is also what you do
with your eyes, thumbs, screens, clicks,
for where your attention is,
your heart will be also.
You are worth more than many sparrows,
and the hairs of your head are numbered.
Do you think your Father does not also see
the words you type, the paths you follow,
the time you spend online?
Do not let the measure of your heart be followers,
nor your worth by likes, by views.
Your value is not in what you are before strangers,
but in being known, loved by God.
When you are online, remember who you are:
mine, not an image or voice behind a mask
but a child of your Father in heaven.
What a thousand clever posts profit you,
if you lose quietness of soul?
Your time is a talent entrusted to you.
Do not bury it in the scrolling ground of blue light
There is a time to work, a time to rest,
a time to speak, a time to be silent.
Let there also be a time to draw away,
to lift your eyes, be fully present
with God and with one another.
You have heard that it was said,
“You shall not commit adultery.”
But I say to you:
whoever looks with a longing gaze
at whatever can corrupt the heart
has opened a door within.
If what you see on your screen
draws you away from love,
from purity, from compassion,
turn away.
If a site, a feed an application
causes you \to stumble, lay it aside.
Better loss of a moment's pleasure or false peace
than a clean heart.
What does it mean in this digital world to love your neighbor?
Never stealing what is theirs—
money, information, reputation.
Never deceiving with false offers
taking advantage of the simple, the trusting.
Let your virtual “Yes” be “Yes,” your “No,” “No.”
Do not hide a reservation in any gift, a trap in any promise.
Gain by trickery is loss to the soul.
Better a little with honesty
than riches with an empty soul.
There was a man who built a house on sand.
When the rain fell and the wind rose,
the house fell; great was its fall.
So it is with every agreement you enter.
Before you bind yourself with a word, a click,
ask: Does this lead me toward justice, mercy, and truth,
or away?
Do not be hurried by fear or promise.
The truth can always wait; only lies must be rushed.
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks—
the fingers follow.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
even in threads, thoughts and likes;
they shall be still called children of God.
When insulted,
you will be tempted to answer insult with insult,
mockery with mockery.
But I say to you:
love your enemies even when they hide behind new names,
Pray for them, those who misuse you;
never repay contempt with contempt.
Let your words online be seasoned with grace,
truthful, clear, yet gentle toward the weak.
Who then in the digital streets is your neighbor?
The child who does not yet see the danger,
the elder who trusts too quickly,
the lonely who believes every promise,
the stranger whose name you do not know
but whose heart is easily broken.
Whatever you do to the least of these—
the small, the slow, the unwary—
you do it to Me.
If you know the way to protect them and do nothing,
you pass by on the other side.
Go, instead, and be a good neighbor:
warn, teach, support,
and stand between the wolf and the flock when you can.
The Sabbath was made for you,
not you for the Sabbath.
In the same way,
let there be times, places
where no screen holds and commands you.
Come away to a quiet place and rest
Resist the noise,
that you may hear the still, small voice
which lies beneath, with God.
In silence you
are more than your work,
more than messages,
more than devices of earth.
At the end of the day,
bring your digital life back into the light.
Ask:
Where did I love well today?
Where did I wound?
Where did I waste the gifts given to me?
Do not be afraid to see the truth.
I did not come to condemn you but to save you.
What you bring to Me, I can heal.
What you hide, remains a chain.
You are anxious about many things—
data, accounts, attacks you cannot see.
Your Father knows what you need.
Use tools that are wise.
Learn what you must
Protect what is entrusted to you.
When you have done what you can,
place the rest into My hands.
Your identity in heaven cannot be stolen
Your true name is written where no hacker can reach,
no breach can expose, no scam can erase.
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
your digital life interface will always find its place—
as your servant.
You who have ears to hear . . . hear.
wracton@gmail.com
williamacton.legalshieldassociate.com
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