Every other day, we see people posting with grievances in their hearts how their social media account was hacked. They put up public notices on social media warning people to desist from communicating in any form with anyone impersonating them and soliciting help with their accounts. In fact, hacking into people’s accounts, banks, social media, websites, etc has become commonplace in today’s society. Software developers face new challenges in IT security. They are faced with the daunting task of developing software with no apparent vulnerabilities. Regular software updates are released in a timely manner to patch any potential vulnerabilities or security flaws found in software, because hackers exploit these security flaws to hijack control over the software. This is a very worrisome but unfortunate situation in our generation of cyber wars and attacks. We’re in a generation where a computer becomes a good tool in the hands of good and productive people and a weapon in the hands of deadly people. You cannot be safe if you don’t secure your accounts.
Let’s take a break now. What do you think I am up to at this point? What are you presuming is the goal of this article? Perhaps one of his IT talks. Read on and discover for yourself. As I hint, even if you might not love this article, it isn’t an IT security artcile as the title might suggest . Rather it is a warning that your faith and beliefs are under serious threats of being hacked because you haven’t activated the security measures of defense against them. It sounds funny doesn’t it ? Sure, yet this is what I have observed happening in our world today. Let me tell you a short story.
There is this young man born of good Christian parents in the Southern part of California. Throughout his elementary and secondary education, he was an ardent Christian. He had such a strong belief in God that you could hardly convince him otherwise in any article of the Catholic faith. His faith was eventually hacked by the time he graduated from the university. He became an atheist and you could easily get into trouble and serious disagreement with him if you dared to mention anything about God in your discussion. What happened to him, no one can explain. But the truth is that the devil is gradually hacking the faith of many. If you don’t believe my story check around. In your neighbourhood you might find one or two persons whom you once knew as a faithful Christian and a responsible child who now are an atheist or an irresponsible adult.
WHO ARE WE TO BLAME ? THE INSTITUTION, THE INDIVIDUAL OR SOCIETY?
I blame all three.
THE INSTITUTION
It is very sad to say that many institutions have no place for the moral formation of students and do not create an atmosphere to promote that. The worst atrocities often happen within the four walls of our schools where moral values should be promoted. Worse still, many professors indirectly or implicitly project their anti-Christian worldviews and their false ideological beliefs on their students. I was saddened when I heard that even in schools racism is indirectly promoted. It is the most unfortunate thing to hear that professors directly or indirectly mete out unjustifiable punishments to people of color. The institutional climate, as a matter of fact, played a part in hacking the faith of the young man in our story. My justification for saying this is because he has often been heard on several occasions quoting some of his professors and arguing that religion is irrational and unscientific.
THE SOCIETY
I equally blame our liberal and secular society where religion is divorced from our daily routines and pursuits . Where freedom of the individual is extolled beyond his moral responsibilities. Where obeying unjust laws and fulfilling civic responsibilities is revered more than obedience to God’s commandments and religious responsibilities. Worse crimes are happening in our time more than in past igenerations, because the more men and women are distanced from their Creator, the more they lose sight of the things that please Him and consequently the more their hearts are polluted. This opens the doors of greed, killings, racism, fraud and all manner of evil tendencies and false beliefs. If the problems of this generation are to be corrected, creation must find it’s way back to God. A paradise on earth, which I often admired in the drawings on biblical pages as a child, becomes realizable if we make God the center of our lives and His standards the standard of all human activities. I am not in any way insisting that everyone must be a religious person, but whatever creed one professes, there are Godly values that can be upheld to bring sanity and peace into our lives. It is too difficult to believe that any religion could encourage killings or evil practices. For atheists who claim there is no God above, I pray for their conversion.
THE INDIVIDUAL
I blame the individual because keeping the faith and growth therein is nurtured daily by our constant connection to God in prayers, daily reflection on His Word, observing the commandments, and fulfilling our religious responsibilities. Our Christian life is a constant struggle to imitate the virtues of Christ. Among these virtues are humility and meekness, which are the basis of peace in our lives and our world. “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (cf Mathew 11:29)
If you do not secure yourself with the armor of faith in God, then you have blatantly refused to activate the security measures to protect your faith, and very soon your faith will be hacked by worldly vanities. Ephesians 6:11 says: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”
As everyone tries to secure their bank, social media, and all manner of accounts on the internet to restrict illegal entry, it is also our responsibility to secure our faith and the faith of our children from deadly exposure to worldly attractions and evil lifestyles.Institutions should create an atmosphere of moral and responsible living. Overemphasis on the freedom of the individual should be minimized. Man is not just a political being he is also a moral being with a conscience. More emphasis ought to be on the formation of a good conscience and not on legal rights. We have to know that true freedom consists in obedience to the law of God, before the law of the land. Professors should endeavor not to present anti-Christian worldviews. The school should be a place of holistic formation. An educated and yet irresponsible or immoral individual is the worst disgrace to humanity. If you are a student in a college or university far from home, do not presume absolute freedom even if you are 18 years of age and above. Do remember that your choices in life define your destiny. If you give up on God in your struggles in the campus, then you will some day realize that all we achieve in life isn’t all because we laboured so much, but because Divine Providence made it possible. Human effort unaided by Divine grace is fruitless. Remember Peter and how he laboured the whole night and caught nothing and how the situation changed when he obeyed the instruction of Christ to cast the net back. “Master, ” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing, but if You say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” (cf Luke 5:5).
If you feel that your faith has been hacked, usually it begins to manifest when you begin to doubt the things of God, or become too critical about religion. It also happens when you impersoante yourself; that is when you start living a life that you are convinced is not the true you that you know . I would advise you to consult a pastor of your congregation and discuss your doubts and confusions and commit yourself to daily prayers. Pray Psalm 51 daily and attend religious activities.
N.B Hacking,in the sense employed in the title of this article, is to gain illegal access to, for instance, a computer or Network System. We took this definition to the spiritual realm where it is defined as leaving one’s life unsecured and allowing the devil to gain illegal access into our lives which turns us away completely from the things of God, and love of God. This in turn opens the door to allow all forms of evil into our lives.
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.(cf.1Peter 5:8)
“The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.” (cf. John 10:10)
ATTENTION PLEASE!!
My dear friends. I wish to bring to your notice that our website www.eduinfomark.com has been redirected to our new website/blog: www.eduinfomark.org. It took a lot of time, money, and energy to move all the contents from the old website to the new. So pretty much, you will still have access to all the blog posts and your favorite pages on the new website. Regrettably, all our email subscribers may not be getting our blog post on their emails anymore; I tried to move your subscriptions to the new website, but due to WordPress software limitations, I could not succeed. I plead with you to resubscribe again on the new website /blog to keep receiving email notifications on every new post and please do share with others.
Shortcode:
Do you need to share your faith experiences or struggles? Book a free appointment with us.
