One Step Up and Two Steps Back

One Step Up -- And Two Steps Back :

Progress is Perfection

“When I look at myself I don't see, The man I wanted to be. Somewhere along the line I slipped off track, I'm caught movin' one step up and two steps back”

The apostle Paul says, "let us rejoice in the hope of God’s glory, not ours. Additionally, we must also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that our current hardship produces patient endurance. In endurance, proven character is developed, and in this character, hope and a confident assurance of our salvation results." This brings us back to God’s glory. It’s a holy progression.

To quote Springsteen: “When I look at myself, I don't see, the man I wanted to be. Somewhere along the line I slipped off track. I'm moving one step up and two steps back." Don’t we spend our whole lives trying to move up a notch? To "get ahead"?

Progress is measured in so many different ways, but our tendency is to focus always on the goal: the quota, the grade, the sale, the child, the bonus, the end-zone, the accomplishment. The question is whether we can adjust our internal "success-meter" to focus on the great amount of progress made in learning, growing, changing, and adjusting to the inevitable ups and downs of life; instead of comparing and despairing in the futile illusion of being perfect, or reaching the “Goal”. Truth is, progress is perfection.

Instead of calculating our net worth, or assessing our self-righteousness on a lofty standard, could it be possible that God blesses us with adversity, teaches us through hardship, and honors our work of survival and resiliency? In light of eternity, earthly triumphs do not seem so valuable, and seeking perfection becomes narcissistic. Are these truths passed down to our children, or do parents constantly strive to protect them? What seems natural could actually be holding them back.

Paul also wrote that God wants us to focus on spiritual matters and rejoice in our suffering; even though we spend a lifetime seeking comfort. God promises that anyone who does what pleases Him will live forever; but we say that money isn’t everything – it’s the only thing. Man seeks pleasure, while God gives wisdom (through adversity).

Spiritual currency can be spent throughout eternity, but our earthly bank accounts are devaluing quickly. If we are broken, dependent, obedient followers of Jesus, our trials are heavenly blessings, because they cause us to draw near to Him. A christian must value Christ's sacrifice, and God's word more than their own timetable of priorities, but this is difficult. 

Otherwise, our comfort, wealth, and ease of living pushes us away from a Godly life, into a habit of choosing things, or following people outside of God’s will. It’s counter-intuitive but clearly biblical, that we are most fulfilled when we empty ourselves. (see Philippians 3: 7-8, and Mark 9:35)

God wants us close to him, in a relationship. Sometimes he uses discipline to open our eyes, recognize our weakness, and turn to Him for help. We can be following the wrong leaders, or accepting a counterfeit agenda as we navigate through our lives, so what do we do? It's one-step-at-a-time: first recognize the need, then accept the solution which is outside of ourselves, and then take up the vision (cross) of God, and follow.

We think He approaches with a warrant for our arrest, but God is serving us with an invitation to a massive party, celebrating His glory alone and not the world. Accepting this also requires we re-focus, re-calibrate, re-define progress, and re-frame setbacks as opportunities. ##

Blog post ©Mark H. Pillsbury

The Facebook Vote

More thoughts on Facebook

Have you voted? No, not the presidential vote, thankfully that is over. The vote on Facebook [“FB”] policies going forward. As stated in the policies, if more than 30% of all active registered users vote, the results will be binding. If turnout is less than 30%, the vote will be advisory. Don’t they appear democratic when in reality FB can never be bound by users?

In previous blog posts here on The Rostra Novum* (The New Rostra), I wondered aloud whether the new format, or going public was such a good idea; now I am curious what Facebook has to do to meet shareholder demand. My presupposition is that they have to give investors value in return for their stake in the company and other than advertising on the pages which don’t work that well, FB’s best revenue engine is data mining.

Facebookers expect to see an attractive format not always changing or confusing, logical interface without oppressive advertising (I have never clicked on a pop-up ad), and plenty of visually stimulating newsfeed items and timeline photographs about which they are interested. Issues of control, privacy, shareholder value, security, patent infringement, mergers, expansion to other devices, regulation, and overall user satisfaction swirl around this nascent Goliath now such an integral part of our online lives.

Nonetheless, value in the platform is keeping up with friends and their families in a way that could not have happened just five years ago! It is a bragbook fueled by a culture of immodesty and narcissism allowing a user to “share” and “show” the best and brightest side of their lives. The scale and reach of Facebook is of inestimable value or users would have stopped logging on daily a long time ago. It always amuses me when I hear someone took down their FB page in rebellion against the Evil Empire, kind of like running away from home as a kid; you know they’ll be back.

For people or organizations this huge platform is a way to show the world in one “Page” what one makes out of life; how they fulfill their existence whether commercially, artistically, or socially. In March 2012, FB reported that there were more than 42 million “Pages” with 10 or more “Likes.”

Because this is the year after, the year of Facebook, and as campy and narcissistic as it’s become, its enjoyment for me diminished; although it is a great way to keep up with everyone’s photos. Now that half of American adults are on FB, newbies and amateurs weigh down the newsfeed with clip art musings, pet pictures, affable affirmations, and insignificant drivel only your aging mother could love. (And having my parents on FB says a lot: it is hardly cutting-edge, now fairly mainstream. If you want up-to-minute news, hip commentary, and social relevance; go over to Twitter® your parents will never get on Twitter®).

Being completely open on social media, I don’t mind whether people know my activities; however, when I think about what is out there, the enormous amounts of data available chronicling my routines: where I work, shop, what I read, eat, buy, whom I love, with whom I disagree, or where I go when I leave my home? Marketing minions leverage this by profiling and targeting messages for the audiences they address, whether the product or service is wanted. Who else is watching?

FB expects to gather as much data on its users as is possible from all the items we place on their servers. It expects to use this data to tailor advertising to each user every minute they are on the site. It also expects to crunch all the data into usable sections of information that it can market to companies who want to apply this amazing database to their marketing. The immense value of all this should be reflected in the price of Facebook stock [NASDAQ: FB] which has gone from $38 in May to as low as $17 in September. So was the initial public offering price too high, poorly executed, or does this proposition not quite yet bring enough value? As long as advertisers can engage with more than 900 million monthly active users, Facebook will always have a value-proposition, albeit one that evolves.

All this information is sliced and diced, stacked and folded until it fits into the right spot; where the data dumps into exactly the right inbox. Photo albums made of paper, cardboard, stickers and tape have been digitally replaced. Does FB own all the pictures you took on vacation, at the reunion, or sitting around your house? Even though these trinkets of time seem unimportant to you; no one thinks they are valuable, someone out there is curious enough to peek into your lifestyle. Is privacy and modesty dead?

Over Fourteen Thousand (14,586) visits after I started this blog, readers still abound. Much of who I am is contained in these posts, just like #Facebook. Since going on FB in 2009 and seeing it become a household word in 2011, I’ve posted almost everyday until just about the time of the IPO (“going public”).

Acknowledging their reach is recorded as massive, my suspicion is that the decline in the stock price mirrors the loss of interest in this platform. FB exists on a scale almost like a governmental entity which supposedly exists for the benefit of the people. Changes in policy or format send ripples throughout culture, but there is not much anyone can do if they use the service for free? Which brings me back to the sham of voting about new policies and the 30% threshold in order to make changes binding. Did you vote?

©Mark H. Pillsbury

*blog post 12/25/2011 re: FB introduction of new Timeline format (rostra novum blog, see below)