To blog or not to blog that is the question?

It all gets just gets so confusing what is my status? do i have a space face? have I written on my twitterbook? How many virtual friends have I collected, how many people have I accidentally forgotten to add? Can I have the biggest virtual farm or fullest fishtank? Whats it all really about.

I thought all the internet space would create an open vista of free expression and instead find it a limiting constricting at times voyeuristic prison entrapping time in fruitless pursuits of highest scores. Its like an addiction - We probably send out so many requests to be my neighbour on this or that farm program so we can get the latest spangled cow that's on offer.

I have meant to start a blog or journal for ages and at times have attempted to in my notes on facebook. The whole concept of neighbours on these games on facebook made me start thinking who are my neighbours?

I have just moved and came home early because of the snow, I decided to clear my path before I ended up with huge piles of frozen snow tommorrow - Pretty futile with snow still coming down, but I wanted to do something. I cleared the path and outside the house, and outside the neighbours house and the neighbours neighbours house and the ... until I got to the end of the path. The snow has covered up all the evidence so why bother? Well because I could.

We live in a society that doesn't spare a thought for others if we can possibly help it. I was talking to Norman and Mary on Sunday about the passage in Judges 17:6 ⁶In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.
I often deal with people who can only see things from their own perspective without considering the impact or feelings of other people their actions have involved?

God gives us the perogative of Judges 17:6 - we can do what we want, we can serve ourselves, Joshua forsaw what would happen and made a declaration of intent in Joshua 24
¹⁴"Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. ¹⁵"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

In the story of the good samaritan, the priest and levite were to full of their own preoccupation to meet the needs right in front of their eyes. The samaritan didn't wait around at the inn to recieve a reward or a civic honour but carried about his business. Yes we have free will to please and entertain ourselves, but a little time serving others and finding our real neighbours is something we could probably all do. We don't need a reward, I think one person saw me clearing the path, the snow has now covered it, the reward is in doing it in the first place, tomorrow the frozen snow outside our houses will be a little less thick.

God said this in Isaiah
⁶"Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
⁷"Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
⁸"Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
⁹"Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am '
If you remove the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
¹⁰And if you give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.
¹¹"And the LORD will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
¹²"Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the breach,
The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.

Does our neighbour really need a strawberry cow or a limited edition piece of topiary?