Evangelizing this ‘Digital Continent’

Theme: Evangelizing this ‘Digital Continent’
By: Lorenzo Regondola


As I go home from school, I go straight to the computer or the laptop, whichever is available, open my Facebook account, check for updates, and comment on things that catch my attention quickly: the pictures, notes, wall posts, anything. And that’s just the start. Then comes Twitter, Multiply, YouTube, and many, many other sites.
Welcome to the digital generation, where mass media is the main form of entertainment, cellphones are the main medium of communication, and iPods are the main source of music. Is there room for God? Hmm…
I am part of Youth for Christ’s music ministry in my school. I joined the music ministry because I am a big music-lover. So I thought, “Why not use my music talents for God?” And so I joined the music ministry. Immediately after, when our head asked me to learn the songs, I fell in love with the songs. Every night, during our 9pm prayer time, I will get my guitar, play the songs, and start singing. I believe that through this, I am setting a good example for others: to set aside even just a short time for God each day.
With all these things going on, one can say that fitting God in to his or her schedule is hard and I won’t argue with that. With technology came more work since it became easier to do work with the innovations that arose. This is one disadvantage that technology brings: it eats up too much of our time, or at least we let it eat much of our time. But can we blame it? No, because we need technology nowadays. Without it, obviously, we would still be living a prehistoric lifestyle. And this is an advantage that comes with it: it makes life easier for us. People no longer have to walk 10 kilometers going to school. A car will take care of that. All a person has to do is drive it.
Pope Benedict XVI in his message relayed to us that we must “announce the Gospel to your contemporaries with enthusiasm”. Well, through my musical skills, I try to influence my friends to learn the songs and love the songs and sing it in their own homes. You know, many people I know are music fans, but they aren’t into the music which really makes sense. I try to rub into them some worship songs that I enjoy, yet they do not seem to like it. This is one hindrance to my spreading of the Gospel through my music. The songs that I like do not appeal to my friends. And inasmuch as I would want them to learn these songs, I couldn’t do it because if they can’t appreciate it, then it defeats the purpose of me trying to make them learn these songs.
Again, technology can help me solve this problem at least partially. With the very popular video sharing site YouTube, talented musicians out there can do another arrangement of songs, turn it into a more popular form of music, post it on YouTube, and let the whole world see it. This way, there is a bigger chance of pop music fans to like worship songs, with the help of a direct manifestation of technology, YouTube.
Technology must be used for the good, not to step on others. Saying bad things against others on the internet is an unnecessary deed. If I don’t get the response I want from my friends when they don’t want to learn the songs, I must not react violently, especially in the internet. I know I am a talented musician. With the YouTube solution I presented earlier, I can use that to make them like my music: I’ll record something on video, upload it on YouTube, and share it with my friends in Facebook, and, just like that, I’ve done God’s command to me: to share my talents with others.
See now, technology can still co-exist with a Christian way of life. It isn’t very obvious nowadays but with a closer look, it is very evident. Just look at how I connect them, in reality or in theory.
If we can only use technology properly, this world will be a more peaceful place for us.