“Behold new things have come” [2 Corinthians 5:17]

Conquer temptation

In early February, a social media video of a Japanese teenager eating in a sushi chain caused an uproar. The teenager deliberately licked the rims of the cups and communal soy sauce bottles and even stained the conveyor belt sushi, seriously damaging the reputation of the sushi chain. Even though the boy’s parents took him to apologise, the sushi chain insisted on filing a lawsuit to seek justice. As similar incidents continue to come to light, one cannot help but wonder if people are changing the social media ecology or if social media has changed the way people think and behave.

Today, social media has become an important part of our lives. Whether it is to record our daily lives or express our opinions, a short video of just 10 seconds or a long text can circulate quickly in the media community. It has become a habit to run and keep updating social media accounts, and it can become an industry. Network traffic such as the number of followers, click-through rates and re-post rates are originally statistics on the flow of information, but now they can also represent the level of interest and even influence of an account. In the face of this kind of attention on the Internet, it is important for us to give more thought to what we share, so that we don’t do anything that we might regret.

On the other hand, with all the big data and information that is being recorded concerning our lives, and the popularity of social media, not only do important things spread over thousands of kilometres in a matter of hours, but even trivial things that may not have been noticed in the past can no longer be hidden. Apart from being more concerned about our privacy, we need to be more concerned about our words and actions, to overcome the temptation to be selfish and capricious, and to strive to keep our hearts pure, to refuse temptation and to refrain from irresponsible behaviour.

As in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus resisted the temptations of the devil in the wilderness three times [Matthew 4:1-11]. The devil saw the frailty of human nature and tempted Jesus to question and tempt God in different ways. 

In our daily lives, the devil also tempts us to do evil things and turn away from God with the same kind of hardship, sophistry, worldly glory and wealth. Jesus himself demonstrated three times how scripture can help us counteract the devil’s temptations. 

As the faithful, it is important for us to learn scripture, especially during Lent, so that God can help us restore a pure heart through the Word [Psalm 51:12], so that we can testify to him.

Lenten Campaign Organising Committee, 2023