"My Phone is My Fig Leaf"

"My Phone is My Fig Leaf:
A timeless tale of technology and temptation"
 by Jenna Perrine:

My Phone is My Fig Leaf

A timeless tale of technology and temptation./JENNA PERRINE

Some old stories are told anew every day. Here's a sobering one from Jenna Perrine. -Paul

Now technology was more crafty than any other creaturely wisdom that the Lord God had made.

It advertised an hourly question to the woman,

"Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"

And the woman said to technology, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"

But technology tweeted to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.

Vulnerable.

Seen.

Judged.

Compared.

Measured.

Objectified.

Susceptible.

Powerless.

Scrutinized.

They knew that the world was now watching them. Judging them by obscene standards of creativity, fitness, intelligence, wit, beauty, attractiveness, and wealth.

They knew that there were infinite arguments to be fought, lost, and won on everything from politics to cookie recipes.

They knew that there were opinions to be shared, people to build up, and people to be torn down, Youtube videos to be made viral and critiqued by any measure of preference or whimsy.

They knew that there were blogs to be written, on any issue of fancy, statuses to be scribed both witty and mundane. Comments to be added, pored over, and coveted.

They knew that there were deep recesses in their heart, the potential for great loneliness that could be satiated instantaneously in a moment of weakness by an online conversation or a pornographic image.

They feared rejection in the deepest parts of their soul and they desired to be proactive against it. They feared that their nakedness would be laughed at, loathed, ignored … so they thought of ways to forge a new face, present a different personality, imagine another image than the one they'd been given. They sought control over how they were perceived, took a carving knife to what the outside world could see and cut out any hint of blemish, unhappiness, or weakness.

They sought control over how they were perceived, took a carving knife to what the outside world could see and cut out any hint of blemish, unhappiness, or weakness.

They smiled in every photo. Shared only their most prideful and boastful moments. Contributed to a frivolous high society of online mirth.

They felt such fear that they believed their nakedness should be scorned, stuffed, and hidden from the eyes of all. So they suffocated it into silence, peered at only in the moments they could hide in the blackest of nights hoping to finally be unseen from the world.

They knew they had no friends on Facebook, no followers on Twitter, and no Instagram account to speak of.

And so they sewed fractured fragments of self esteem together and fashioned for themselves smartphones.

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God

behind the screen of their smartphone,

behind the screen of their laptop,

behind the screen of their tablet,

among the online profiles of Facebook,

among the pins of Pinterest,

among the tweets of Twitter,

heads bowed not in prayer but towards a screen,

hands fervent not in worship but in typing keys,

eyes consumed not with glory but with the ridiculous,

thoughts pondering not whatever is lovely but whatever is popular.

But the Lord God called to the man,

(even though he could plainly see him, behind the photoshopped image, sarcastic comments, and polished profile,)

and with great sadness and wrath said to him, "Where are you?"

And after finishing a text message, the man lifted his head from the screen and he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.

I was afraid because I was alone at a coffee shop, and I checked my email for the fifth time.

I was afraid because I was nervous to start a new conversation, and I browsed my newsfeed on Facebook.

I was afraid because I was insecure in the presence of my friends, and I spoke digitally to one that wasn't present.

I was afraid because I was sexually unsatisfied and lonely, and I sought solace in pornography.

I was afraid because I was seen by the world, and I bred a false image digitally.

I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself."

He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"

The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "Technology, the creaturely wisdom deceived me, and I ate."

The Lord God said to technology,

"Because you have done this,

cursed are you above all creaturely wisdom

and above all ways to spend ones time;

into unreality you will go,

and falsehood and exaggeration you will eat

all the days of your advertising.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel."

To the woman he said,

"I will surely multiply your pain in image bearing;

in pain you shall find self esteem.

Your desire shall be for your husband to be captivated by only you,

and the power of where his eyes look shall rule over you."

And to Adam he said,

"Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

and have eaten of the tree

of which I commanded you,

'You shall not eat of it,'

cursed is vulnerable intimacy because of you;

in pain you shall strive for it of it all the days of your life."

To them he said,

"You will idealize yourselves through social media, then feel rejected at your most idealized. You will crave to be accepted at your very least.

Your misrepresentation will breed deep misery. You will personally bear great burden for perpetuating false impressions digitally.

The closer someone is to you physically and geographically, the worse social media will be for your relationship."

Disclaimer: This is intended to be a thought provoker, an indictment of technology in a dissatisfied and comparative culture. I hope you enjoy. This is not intended to be a slam on the use of all or any technology (that would be rather ironic given my platform to post this). I hope you can discern where to draw the line.

How has the social media boom satisfied your loneliness?

How has it left you wanting?

How have you been tempted to manipulate your online presence to be less than vulnerable, honest, or naked?

How can we redeem social media to be a tool of honest connection?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. - Jenna

Jenna Perrine is a soon-to-be graduate of Moody Bible Institute, from Belfast N.Ireland, and an aspiring advocate for soul care and mental health within the Church.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/parse/2014/march/my-phone-is-my-fig-leaf.html