Plundering the Twittering Egyptians

So I started Tweeting today.  (You can follow me by clicking on the "Twitter" tab to the right of this blog column.)

You need to know that this is a big step for me.  I have been pretty anti-social-media up to this point, but I think I received a little inspiration from recent visitor to ONU's campus--Leonard Sweet.  It wasn't any particular thing that he said as much as his "dive in and make a difference" attitude toward such popular social media as Twitter, Facebook, Google, and I-phone/pad/everything.

And as I signed up today for a Twitter account, I heard the words of the Ancient Church Father Augustine ringing in my ears: plunder the Egyptians!


If you're not familiar with that metaphor/image, you should be.  It's an image Augustine drew from the Exodus narrative and wrote about in his On Christian Doctrine.  The metaphor/image works like this: Just as the Israelites plundered the Egyptians of various articles of gold, silver, clothing, etc. when they left Egypt and, presumably, put them to the use of God's people; so also Christians today "plunder" the world about us, using what we find for the service of God's people and the Kingdom.


So maybe I'm making an excuse . . .  or maybe I've really tapped into something here.  Maybe (some, not all) Christians can utilize the social media we find, not in the same way the world around us puts these media to use, but in a way in which the people of God are served and the Reign of God advanced.  I hope that's what I end up doing with my blog, my Facebook account, my Twitter account, etc. (I have yet to buy into the I-pad thing: Why do I need to buy a $500 piece of equipment to play "Angry Birds"?)  And hopefully you can put these media to Kingdom use, too.

May we plunder the Twittering, Facebooking, Googling Egyptians of our day for the People and Reign of God!