#PinterestProbz

I was going to delete my pinterest.
Because it caters to such vanity and a distinct self-focus.
It breeds covetous and discontentment.
Promotes materialism.
For the most part.

It's all about craving what we don't have, right?  Create boards to drool over full of trinkets that aren't in our life.  Trinkets we don't need in our lives, making it easy to stare at endlessly and obsess over.  Or creating boards that just contribute to the sad emphasis that our culture puts on appearance.  Not that fashion or looking presentable is bad - of course not - but we make an idol of it, base some much of our own worth and other's worth on it, and pinterest just encourages that unhealthy practice.

And it struck me how much of a waste of time it was.  And how it falls in line with values that I've come to hold in contempt because it so strikingly contradicts everything Jesus holds to.

I know not everything on there is vain. So much of it is, though - at least to me.  I guess it just struck me of how little actual importance it all is in light of the dire needs of this world and what God truly calls us to do and be.  I can't worry so much about what I'd wear if I had money or how I'd decorate my house if I had one or what little trinkets will be present at the wedding I may not even have.  How can I be content with the life I have and live out a truly simple, but radically giving life if caught up in the culture that Pinterest inherently promotes?

So I was going to be done with it, making it a very short-lived venture on my part.

But there's this lesson God has been teaching me as of late.  Not to abandon these things that I detest, that I find unfavorable, that I want nothing to do with.  But to redeem them.

So instead of pinning things I want and putting such a stock on things that will be completely meaningless one day, I can use it for so many other things.  To draw attention to the beauty of God's creation.  To pin Bible verses and other spiritual things for encouragement.

 Like Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

I can use my Pinterest account to champion those things, but by God's definition, not this world's.  There is a definite distinction, yet we still tend to confuse the two.

This isn't to condemn anybody else's use of Pinterest.  These are just the convictions I felt personally placed on my heart in line with what God's been revealing to me and doing in my life as of late and an exploration of the remedy of them as I continue to explore what it means to live radically in the name of Christ.  And I feel like I was using Pinterest in a self-involved, shallow way, but I know that it can be used to glorify God if I approach it using a different emphasis.

If you wanna see me attempt to do this, y'all can follow me on Pinterest here: https://pinterest.com/channyt/