I’ll Have the Penne Alla Arabbiata

I had to run an errand today, and while I was out, I thought a lot about how much I was enjoying not being on Facebook.

I hadn’t realized how strongly Facebook influenced me. Every time I looked at it, I saw Christians posting toxic ignorance (“Do you love Jesus? Share this or go to hell”). I saw proof that God wasn’t getting through to people (who had no excuses). I saw half-naked or sometimes completely naked women. I saw unjustified anger, self-pity, and lots of victim behavior. I even saw Christians promoting Bernie Sanders, which is like Poles supporting Hitler.

Having worldliness in your face via the Internet gives your flesh strength in its battle against you. Even though there may seem to be no connection, it will cause you to give in to temptation more readily, even when you’re away from the PC. I’m doing better now.

I did not see that coming.

Jesus told the disciples that if a town refused to receive their blessings, they were to leave and shake the dust off their feet as a gesture of condemnation. He wasn’t just talking about dirt and towns. He was telling us about the Rapture.

We are God’s feet. The world is a big bowl of festering puke, but we are left here after we receive salvation so we can reach others and pull them out. Dirt is flesh. The flesh makes us dirty. It opens the door to iniquity and disease. It’s a handle and a doorway for Satan. We are stuck here temporarily, and it is inevitable that we will slip and do stupid things from time to time. The world is a terrible influence.

When the Rapture comes, God will shake the dust–our flesh–off of us, and it will be a gesture of judgment against the people who didn’t listen.

Life is full of little raptures. If you cancel your porn channels, it’s a rapture. If you quit arguing obsessively about politics, it’s a rapture. If you leave a prosperity church, it’s a rapture. I was raptured out of two diseased churches and a whole bunch of relationships.

Dumping social media is a rapture, too. It’s very good for me. It will help me stay cleaner. Blogging will follow if I live long enough.

My departure is not good for the people who saw the useful things I posted. That stuff is all gone now. It could have helped them. But the harm to me had started to outweigh the benefit to others, so I was told to quit.

I didn’t deactivate my account. I deleted it. POOF. Gone, entirely. No use playing around.

I didn’t say goodbye.

While I was driving here thinking about how great it was going to be to delete my account, I remembered a dream I used to have. Several times I dreamed I drove an SUV off an overpass, just like the Illinois Nazis in The Blues Brothers.

Each time, I thought it was real. I looked down through the windshield and saw the ground coming up at me, and I knew it was over. There was no way to survive. I felt exhilarated. Finally I was going to see the better part of life. I felt very sober and serious, but I felt no fear at all. I was eager to go on.

I felt that way today while I was driving. I felt as if I were about to go on a trip to Europe and leave this country and my American problems behing.

Does it mean anything? Pray and find out. I’m just telling you what I felt.

I used to assume that a person had to be super holy to get caught up in the Rapture. I thought it would only be for complete fanatics who almost never sinned. Now I’m not so sure. I fully expect 99% of Christians to be left behind, but I don’t think the people who make it will have to be carbon copies of Jesus.

The selection process probably has a great deal to do with humility, willingness to change, and the amount of hatred the world has for you. Part of the purpose of the Rapture is to protect people who exalt God. He himself is invulnerable, and the more you exalt him and humble yourself, the more he will exalt you and share his own blessings with you.

If the world really has it in for you, and you are treating God with the proper love, respect, awe, and gratitude, God has a lot of incentive to pull you out. A lot of our vulnerability comes from having the wrong attitude toward God.

I don’t know what’s happening. I’m not starting a cult. Don’t emasculate yourself, drink poison, or buy white sneakers. I’m just relaying my observations and experiences.

I always thought I would get a lot more done than I have, but who can say? If I have to be an eleventh-hour refugee, I am thrilled to get the chance.

I don’t care. I would be happy to go. This place is a mess. As far as I’m concerned, so long, and thanks for all the fish. I would rather go sooner than later.

Death doesn’t have to be a dumpster fire. My great-grandmother was a charismatic. She quit going to doctors at a certain age. She didn’t need them. When she was 85, she told her children she was going to die. My grandfather told her she had indigestion, and he went about his business. She got in bed and died while he was gone.

That’s how I want to go. Either that or a meteor. I have always hoped for a meteor. You can’t beat that level of surprise. Nothing knocks your consciousness out of a corrupted meat sack like a meteor.

Things are going to keep getting better. Worry is going to disappear. The sabbath starts a little early if you pay attention. Whether I’m here for ten minutes or another forty years (please, no), the future is brighter than I can imagine.

Keep moving forward. Good stuff lies ahead. You will see it in due time.