TITLE: Leave No Room by Chris Parker SCENE: A crisp, clear, fall evening in the southwestern town of Farmington, NM. (Pan down and left from a starlit sky over the city’s mall to the Burger King across the street. A dark four-door vehicle pulls away from the drive through window, stopping at the street’s intersection.) Zoom in slowly through front windshield to reveal the driver, a middle-aged, silver-haired woman, reaching into the paper bag containing that evening’s meal for her family. Gingerly yet quickly, she pulls out a couple of the French fries, making sure she places them between her teeth as she waits for them to cool a bit; rubbing the salt and oily residue from her fingers on the brown BK napkin. She watches the vehicles pass by in front of her and makes sure the car behind her is still at the window, all the while fanning the poker-hot fries with her hand to help get them to an edible temperature. Traffic clears in front of her. Turning on her signal she prepares to merge into traffic. The smell of the evening’s meal wafts through the small car interior, and her tongue gently tests the heat of the food still captive between her teeth. As she pulls into the intersection, she begins to chew on the fries. CUT TO VIEW: Woman thinking about holding her cell phone, typing in the following status on her Facebook page: “Getting first dibs on fries… the reward for volunteering to go pick up dinner for family”
No, I am not writing a screenplay, but I might as well be. The woman in the scene was me and the events were real. I caught myself THINKING IN A FACEBOOK POST. I felt amused at first at the realization, and then, amusement turned to a ponderance of our need for social engagement as humans.
Ten years ago, we were figuring out how to manage video recorders to share family events with loved ones far away. Twenty years ago, we were reveling in the fact that we could talk to someone from a phone in our car. Thirty years ago, we had phones with private lines – party lines if we weren’t so lucky or – gads – we had to WRITE a letter to someone to share all our goings-on.
My ponderance turned toward conviction as I thought: What priority do I give God when sharing my “little French fry successes”? What about my dreams? my heartaches? Yes, facebook is a great TOOL to USE to keep in connection with our friends, however, we are called to keep God foremost in our thoughts, and those thoughts to be righteous. “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” By filling our heart, mind, and soul with His presence, we allow no room for evil to creep in.
SLOW FADE OUT: Same middle age woman, sitting at desk in office, typing on keyboard. (Looking at the clock she decides it’s time to go home. She reflects on the blog she has just typed and decides, “I am glad I have God to lead my life. I will strive to fill my soul with Him, letting my decisions be glorifying to Him and His Kingdom.” Amen and Amen) END OF SCENE
Leave a Reply