For Good or For Evil

I’m on the board of directors for an organization in SE Asia, and have been for going on 8 years now. My fellow board members have become a second family to me. As with any group of people scattered around the globe, it’s not often we get to meet face-to-face. We try to do at least two board meetings in-person each year (one in the US and one in Asia), with the rest being via Zoom.

I don’t remember how it happened, but about 18 months ago, one of the board members came up with the idea of doing book studies together. After a bit of planning, we were off and running. Twice per month, we gather via Zoom to catch up, spend time together, and learn. The time doesn’t work great for anyone, as it’s Friday night for us in the Western Hemisphere and early Saturday morning for others in the Eastern Hemisphere. However, it’s always a beautiful time and it fills my bucket immensely.

It always gets me thinking about the power of technology. Because of technology, we’re able to meet as a board, spend time doing a book study, build relationships, and collaborate on new projects. One person even gave a video tour of his new house during last night’s call.

Yes, technology, like all the resources we possess, can be used for evil. Destructive and devastating evil. It’s easy to point our fingers at it and give it our wholesale blame. Like many things, however, technology doesn’t have morals. It’s just a tool. It takes on the values, morals, and behavior of those using it. We can use it for good, or we can use it for evil. Social media, podcasts, YouTube….the list goes on. The crazy part is most of the technological tools at our fingertips are either free or very inexpensive. Billions of people, limited financial hurdles, instant access, and very few barriers to entry. This is the opportunity in front of us. We can either shun technology (or insert any of your other resources here), or we can use it for good. I for one choose to use it for good.

In a world flooded with bad intentions and gross negativity, we each have an opportunity to bend the culture the other way. It often seems like the bad far outweighs the good….enough to make us feel like our contributions don’t even matter. But what if I add something good, you add something good, and the next person does the same? What if we all got intentional about using our resources for good? Could we change the world? There’s only one way to find out.

The Curse of Comparison

When I was growing up, the only Christmas I experienced was my own. I knew what it looked like in my home, and my friends theirs. Technology changed the game with the invention of social media. Maybe some of you are in the same camp, but I spent some time scrolling through Facebook and Instagram yesterday. Christmas post after Christmas post. And maybe some of you can also relate to having a multitude of feelings when seeing other people’s Christmas celebrations. Feelings such as:

• “They look happier than us”

• “They have more presents than us”

• Their house is a lot nicer than ours”

• “They have way better food than we’re having”

• “Their trip looks way more fun than being in this frigid weather”

If you had any thoughts such as these, you’re not alone. I’m guessing many of us did. After all, it’s human nature. It’s the curse of comparison, and social media amplifies it unlike anything we’ve ever dealt with before. There are a few major problems with comparison:

1) We only compare ourselves to people who have more or better than we have. We rarely stop to compare ourselves to those who are less fortunate than us……which by the way is the vast majority of the world.

2) There’s always someone with more than us to compare ourselves to. Even Jeff Bezos, the 5th richest person in the world, could compare himself to Elon Musk (2nd richest person in the world) and jealously wish he had that additional $50 billion. No matter how well we have it, we’ll find someone to compare ourselves to. Whether it’s family, a job, a house, status, cars, or presents under the tree, we’ll definitely find someone to unfairly compare ourselves to.

3) Comparison robs us of appreciating what we do have. I have so much in life, but after spending 10 minutes on Facebook this afternoon, I felt like a nothing. It can be demoralizing at times, so it’s important to always take time to reflect on and be grateful for what we do have.

4) Social media is people’s highlight reel. It portrays them at their absolute best, the way they want to be seen, in a moment of time. We don’t know what’s happening in the other 99.9% of their lives. Sadly, many are hurting just like you and me. So when we see their social media post, don’t extrapolate them to believe their lives are perfect and pristine. I promise you they aren’t.

No matter what your Christmas looked like, I hope it was your version of amazing filled with special moments, time with loved ones, and memories that will last a lifetime. Merry Christmas!