I'm in my 50's and it appears that I will never stop learning.
Even with being selective on commenting, I've still spent hours over the last 30 days making comments on YouTube videos.
Here's What I've Learned:
1) As a general rule, it's a huge waste of time. I have had some fruitfulness come of it. But overall, there are better things to do with my time.
2) There is disagreement among professing Christians. There are a lot of beliefs that are all over the place. I'm not just talking about Protestants vs. Catholics. Even if you take the Catholic piece out of the equation, there is still disagreement.
3) People are going at it with each other often using very harsh language and rarely coming away with a good resolution.
4) It has taken me away from other ways to use my time more productively to strengthen my faith. For example, I could be reading the Bible more, praying more, reading a good book, spending time with my wife, actually sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, writing articles on this website, etc.
5) Spending hours on YouTube comments can be draining because even when not involved in responses it can lead to thinking about the next reply you might make based on the reply that you may get back or what was previously said and how to process that. There are definitely far better things to do than make YouTube comments.
What I've done and have resolved to do:
1) I have not established my own YouTube videos yet, so I DELETED my channel which gets rid of ALL my history including comments.
2) When I do set up a channel in the future with videos on it, I plan to disable comments. It's one less distraction for me and those watching the video.
3) My intent, and this will take discipline, is to watch some or all of a video that might interest me without paying attention to the comments. I want to get something helpful from the video without being concerned with the comments. I actually like it when the comments have been disabled and may spend more time on those channels than the ones that have the comments enabled. That remains to be seen because it's about the video content not the comments.
4) Because I have now added valuable time back into my life, I want to make a difference in my own life and the lives of others with this new found time.
I know where I stand:
At the end of the day, God almighty will judge me not a fallible human being. My trust, my hope, my love, my accountability, my salvation is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ who died on the cross of calvary for my sins and the sins of the world. Being a professing Catholic Christian does not change who my Savior is. My Catholic faith has made me a better Christian. I'm not concerned with whether someone thinks Catholics are Christians or not. It's not my place, nor yours, to place judgment on someones eternal destiny. You and I do not know their heart and their relationship with God. Yes, we can make assumptions based on how they live, but at the end of the day, we are still NOT GOD.
The Gospel:
As Christians, we are called to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That's the good news that Jesus was born of a virgin, walked the earth as both true God and true man, shed His blood on the cross for the sins of the world, rose from the grave on the third day, ascended to heaven and that salvation is through Him.
For some reason, many professing Christians don't think Catholic Christians get what the Gospel is. They don't understand the depths of the Catholic faith. I think they must judge Catholics based on what they think the Catholic faith is about.
I think some of it comes from the language of Catholicism vs. Protestantism. For example, Do you Believe in Jesus Christ? vs. Are you SAVED? I know how to ask protestant based salvation questions that could confuse a weak Catholic, but I also know how to ask the same type of questions in a Catholic way that comes to the same conclusion that salvation is through Jesus Christ. No matter how you slice it, both Catholics and Protestants know that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. Both Catholics and main stream Protestants believe in the EXACT same Jesus.
Make A Decision In Your Own Life:
If you are a professing Christian, join me in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ to the world. I want to encourage any Christian reading this to live your faith and share the good news of Jesus Christ. As Christians, we are called to share the Gospel ( the good news of Jesus Christ ) with the world. Christ didn't call us to judge. That's His role not ours.
Would I like for you to discover the Catholic faith? Yes! But I'm not going to try to sway you in this article. However, if you are Catholic, don't leave the Catholic Church. Make a decision to grow deeper in your Catholic faith and live it.
If you are not a Christian, Jesus Christ died on a cross and shed is blood for you. He desires that all men be saved and that none be lost. But you have free will to make a choice for Christ. Right now as you read this, you can make a decision to believe that Christ died on the cross for your sins and rose from the grave, you can turn from sin, turn to Christ and repent of your sins. However, it doesn't stop there. That's only the beginning. Find a local Catholic Church in your area and talk with a Priest about growing with Christ.
To find a Catholic Church, you can do a Google search or you may want to try http://www.thecatholicdirectory.com/.
