Living Outside The Box

We currently live in trying times.

That’s kind of putting it mildly; we’re actually closer to Biblical End Times than anything else. The populace has been utterly wrecked through misinformation, mismanagement, evil powers, and principalities. We can’t trust anything we see or hear any more. Those who question the narrative are lambasted and labeled as conspirists.

And you know what? Nothing I do will change that. Speaking truth accomplishes nothing when no one is listening.

I have fallen short as a husband, father, and leader. I am struggling with all this insanity with the you-know-what lockdowns, and now the rioting. My workplace is inundated with propaganda and hysteria. They forced us to work from home for a time. Chastising us if we walk down the hallway to go to the bathroom we share with other employees. Constantly cranking up the pressure, despite nobody here even getting the sniffles. We’re constantly told that we’re selfish, that we’re the problem, that we don’t care about people dying, that nothing we do is ever enough. It’s exhausting.

What’s the big deal?

I’m not going to argue deaths and numbers, because frankly, even if I show proof, nobody cares.

Do you know why nobody wants to believe the truth? Because people want to be afraid and angry. The populace gravitates towards fear and control like a moth to a flame. Humans are stupid, panicy animals. If you tell them a virus is going to wipe out mankind (despite tons of evidence it won’t) they will latch on to it like a Pittbull on a toddler. If you tell them they’re victims and should be angry, they will pick up bricks and smash anything in sight, whether it has anything to do with it or not.

Fear is of the enemy. People are driven by it, controlled by it, and always live under a thinly veiled pretense that they’re not afraid. But you show an incomplete and manipulated chart on facebook, and suddenly everyone reveals their true motivation: FEAR.

“Oh my gosh!” they squeal. “We’re all going to die!”

Well, yeah, we all are, eventually, of something.

Funny how all those Darwin fanboys don’t have anything positive to say about a virus that wipes out elderly and sick people, huh? Hmm. Go figure.

So anyway, The End:

Ah, yes. The impending doom of the universe. Almost forgot about that.

The truth is, our time here as individuals is short. The idea that we can live forever, while noble, is complete and utter baloney. We’re not immortal. Our lives are fleeting. And honestly, if you’re wasting your life being fat and unproductive, you shouldn’t be surprised when your life ends prematurely. If you’re spending your time being angry about something, that ultimately won’t prevent you from dying, or even protect you from injustice.

But what should we do, then? What’s the point of anything if we’re all going to die?

Well, that’s the question, isn’t it? Why are we here? What’s our purpose?

Find Your Purpose

If your time here is limited, then you’d better know what you’re doing while you’re here. Your purpose is to glorify God in whatever you do, as the penultimate part of creation. If you’re not doing this, then you’re not fulfilling the reason you were made in the first place. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is.

Just pointing out oppression or lies doesn’t glorify God by itself. Lots of humanitarian organizations do this. You need to move beyond the “I must do something!” mindset and have a “what does God want me to do?” mindset. And you can’t just assume. You have to get on your face, spend time with God, and wait patiently for an answer. Everything else is destined to fail.

It isn’t until you die to self that you can find God. He’s not interested in you doing things your way. In fact, in the grand scheme of things, you don’t matter that much. The world doesn’t revolve around you. When you die, your time here is over, and you will be forgotten. Glorifying God doesn’t mean accomplishing huge things for Him. He doesn’t need you to do anything. What glorifies God? Honoring Him, worshipping Him, putting Him in the proper place in your life. Not relying on self.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself, stop being afraid, and get on your face before God.

Everything else will become evident. Nothing else matters.

You can’t just say “The world is ending!” You have to get to the point where you admit your world will end. And then maybe you will begin to understand the futility of glorifying self.

it’s not that The End Is Near- it’s that Your End Is Near. You aren’t going to live forever. You have to come to grips with this.

PS: I still hate WordPress’ Gutenberg editor.

Sorry, Automattic, but your shortsightedness, callousness, and lack of concern for users pretty much permanently put me off of WordPress as a platform. Sucks, but… it is what it is. If I end up keeping the domain, this site will get converted to a static HTML site. Of course, I’ve tried a WordPress plugin that automatically does it… and guess what? Didn’t work. Sigh.

“The things you own, end up owning you.”

But what if those “things” aren’t actual things?

I was reading an interesting gopher phlog (warning: you need a gopher-enabled browser to see it) called “Everything Is Amazing but Nothing is Ours.”

Essentially, it describes how in the early days of computing, users still thought of files as “things” that you could share, move, and delete. Over time, everything has migrated to a “service” where everything is just cell data stored in a database, delivered on demand.

I’ve seen this happen in numerous areas, like Android apps. Most of the big services moved from a “pay one price for the app” to a subscription model. Sometimes that works out better for consumers, sometimes it doesn’t. It always works out better for the companies, otherwise they wouldn’t do it. All major software companies are doing this, even with operating systems. You don’t “buy” a copy of Office, you have a subscription. You don’t “own” a copy of Windows or OSX, you pay for a license to use it- which can be revoked by them, at any time, for any reason.

I recently had a discussion with an older coworker (who’s an audiophile) about making recordings of broadcast music onto tapes or CDs. At first, I just said “with Spotify, you can listen to anything you want, wherever you want, whenever you want.” But the more I thought about it, I understand why he does this: it’s because he has a tangible copy in his hands. It’s not dependent on whether he has internet, or the correct DRM-equipped player. He just pops a tape into a deck, and he’s got music. He rips every DVD or CD that goes through his hands. He has a huge catalog of media, all re-recorded by himself, DRM-free.

Shane’s phlog accurately explains how the modern “service” model is better in many ways: it’s easier, faster, more powerful, flexible, and cheaper. But the flip side of that is that you lose “ownership” of your information. When everything becomes a service, then you no longer own anything. Continue reading “Ownership of Things That Aren’t Things”