Oh, no! Not another one!

Yes, something else to gobble up my time. And you thought Facebook was addicting. That thing is pure drivel by comparison to LinkedIn! They've got groups coming out of your ears. The thing about them is this, they are based on where you live. I am now a member of 10 groups and waiting for confirmation on 2 others, including one for former students at the Defense Language Institute (DLI - the military language training center at the Presidio of Monterey, CA), one for current students at Capella University (where I'm doing my Ph.D), Angelo State University (in Texas where I got my BA and M.Ed.), and several sub-groups for the above. They post discussions of all manner of trivia. The thing is, this is what should be going on in my courseroom at Capella--but it's not! Nobody has posted in there in weeks that I've seen. I even had to catch my mentor on Facebook chat this evening to let him know I had a new post of my problem statement! The thing is, though this may be fun and it may even be beneficial, it's not going to be that productive for me that I can see--at least not just yet. Later, when I've finished my dissertation, maybe. Anyway, if you want some social networking that looks like it really works, join LinkedIn and let all the knuckleheads post on Facebook.

8 months later...

I noticed my last post was in February--eight months ago. So, have I been able to stay away from Farm Ville? Yes. Have I even wanted to go back to Farm Ville? Yes. Why? Well, I'm sure a good psycho-analyst could come up with a myriad of reasons. Of course, I'm not a good psycho-analyst. Let's just say, "Idle hands are the devil's tools." When I'm not focused on what needs to be done, especially when I'm procrastinating, that's when I am at my most vulnerable. We all have certain things that we enjoy doing. Sometimes they become addictions (i.e., "idols"). Then, whenever we find ourselves with nothing to do or something that we don't want to do, that's when we become vulnerable to relapse. Fortunately, with this Ph.D. thing I'm working on, I shouldn't have much time for frivolity. I say "shouldn't" because sometimes I do. It usually happens when I've had a steady diet of elephant (as in "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time"). Anyway, I've been catching up on some things and this was just one of them. I'll be back sooner next time.

Tear down the idols!

I had to remove an idol in my life this last weekend. I had been playing FarmVille on Facebook since Christmas night. It starts easy and gives you lots of rewards to entertain you and give you a false feeling of success. Then, you begin setting goals, which is a natural outgrowth, at least for me. My next goal was the next level, or a larger farm, or some other "achievement." However, the goals became an obsession. The last day I played (remember, it's a game), I started at 9:00 am. I ate lunch at my computer. I broke for dinner and then played a board game with my wife (it was our game night!). Then I went back and continued farming because I had a crop that was ripe and ready for harvest and I had to plant another crop after that in order to get the most return from my farm. At 11:30 pm, my wife came in to my office in tears wondering when she could have her husband back. Remember, this had been going on for over a month. True, she started it. She was doing it for a couple of months before I even got interested. And I was catching up to her, too. But that's because of how obsessed I had become. I began scheduling my life around when my crops could be harvested and replanted. I planted crops based upon my other "obligations" (e.g., work, church, appointments, etc.). Each crop had a different growing cycle from 2 hrs to 4 days. I seldom did the longer cycle crops, as I wanted a more immediate return. And, probably, I just couldn't stay away from it that long. Funny how a few pixels of light arranged on a screen in a symbolic form with meaning can be interpreted to produce feelings of accomplishment and success.

So, what was wrong with FarmVille? How did it become an idol? What is an idol, anyway? An idol is something you worship beside God. What is worship? When you worship something, you love it above everything else in your life. You think about it all the time. You can't wait until the next time you can be in its presence. You plan and scheme and do all manner of things to achieve your goal, which is to be with the idol. You might even lie, cheat, or steal to be in its presence. The object of your worship may be intrinsically neutral in terms of moral issues. It is your relation to it that determines whether or not it takes the place of God in your life.

But, what is FarmVille anyway? Well, it's a role-playing game (RPG) built on the concept of time management. In addition to the resource of time, other resources also have to be managed, such as coins, FV cash, fuel, trees, animals, crops, buildings, decorations, and neighbors. I witnessed a great variety of approaches and gained some insights from a couple of blogs and forums. Some people used lots of space for decorations. Some had lots of buildings. I determined that cultivated space was the true item of value. Therefore, I tried to arrange my layout to provide the most space in crops. From that, I now see an application to my personal life. I have accumulated a number of things that add no real value to my condition, such as the ability to tether my laptop with my cell-phone. I haven't used that in months, but I still get charged $15 per month on my cellular bill. I also "had" to have a smart phone to replace my old cell phone and PDA, on which I kept all my contacts, schedules, and even my checkbook. I also have a Bible program on there, which I do use occasionally. It's handy, but not necessary. $100 a month for 3 phones, $60 a month for internet access (a smartphone requirement) and $15 a month for tethering gives me a $175 a month cell bill on top of my $190 a month bill for my satellite dish, home phone, long distance, and internet access bundle with my landline phone provider. Are you beginning to get the picture?

This is about stewardship. God has given me the power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18), but most of these things relate more to verse 17, wherein the individual says "My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth." They are more a testimony to my desires than God's provision. I plan to sit down with my wife and look at our situation more closely. What do we have that we don't need? What are we paying for that doesn't add value to God's kingdom? I know there's a ton of stuff and we'll be busy for some time to come.

So, again, what was wrong with FarmVille? It was me. I was wrong with FarmVille. I have a lot of areas in my life that need cleaning up. As I shared with my wife, God spoke to me and said "I wish you would show the same enthusiasm for things that are truly important." I'm still playing another online game. But its lifespan is tenuous at best. If I see that I'm allowing it to take the place of other, more important things, it will go the way of FarmVille.

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