Newsfeed or Good News?

Facebook Prayer

I've given up Facebook. I started this Facebook fast at Lent, and haven't been back, except to see some of my son's posts on his own site about the business he's in--3D printing. Since most of my Lent time would have been away from internet connectivity anyway, I stopped visiting this social media site on the 1st of February. It's been a big revelation to me, how much of my time was spent in reading my "newsfeed"--the cumulative activities of all my 300+ Facebook 'friends.' It's a time I've recaptured for prayer, before bedtime and upon waking up.
Still I'm torn. Many of my clergy colleagues are habitual posters and I've missed seeing what they're up to. However, for me, it was too easy to substitute looking at their newsfeeds for personal contact, and to fool myself into thinking we had a real relationship. We didn't. It's a lot harder to invest in real people and takes a lot more time.
My sabbatical time gave me lots to think about the time involved in investing in real contact with real people. Just knowing about someone's activity is a poor substitute for a real relationship.
So it is with God. Sometimes I think that our bible study can be a substitute for a real relationship with God. It's the default position for us intellectual types that we read the bible like God's newsfeed--a kind of long description--so we don't really have to spend time with Godself. How odd! Back at work this week, I'm prioritizing contact with real people and the real God who doesn't want us to be lonely.  That's the Good Newsfeed I need for today.