The latest in a long line of really BIG things is Pokémon GO.
It has swept across our heat dazed nation faster than you can hurl a Rubik’s cube at Tickle Me Elmo.
People are running around public places frantically trying to catch Pokémon with their smart phones. My wife, Diana, watched a middle aged lady in scrubs suddenly stop her car in the middle of a parking lot, jump out and run around with her phone in the air trying to catch Jiggly Puff. It is Pokémon fever all over again…a refried fad!! People are seriously loving it!
It’s an amazing concept. The technology that makes it possible for a game to interact with the real world is called augmented reality. It is a live view of a physical, real world environment that is augmented or supplemented by computer generated fun. Your view of reality is modified by a computer using GPS data. Your reality is digitally manipulated and objects is overlaid on the real world. It is SUPER fascinating and SUPER fun!
As I was pondering all this Pokemania, it dawned on me that in the REALLY real world, sometimes we live augmented lives.
Our reality is augmented by the lies that we have been told.
Lies about who we are supposed to be and what we are supposed to do.
Lies that our future is determined by our past.
Lies that we are limited by our history or environment.
We look at ourselves, others, our situations and we see things that aren’t really there.
I’m ugly…too short…too tall..,too young…too old.
I’m not enough…never enough…
I don’t look like that super model…
I’m not as talented as my brother…
I will never measure up…
I’ve screwed up too much…
None of my family ever…
My dream is dead…
Augmented reality…
False perceptions are overlaid on our real world.
We begin to believe them.
We don’t see things the way they really are.
It affects our self image, our relationships, our future.
Our lives are deceitfully manipulated by false ideas about beauty, acceptance and achievement. We end up chasing after acceptance, success and popularity like they were super elusive and rare Pokémon.
The lies make me want to pukeman.
(Did you see what I just did there?)
We need to fix our gaze on a reality that won’t change or need to be recharged.
But reality becomes redemption when we realize that the One who made us has been chasing us with HIS truth.
Jesus came to show and tell us who we are MEANT to be…HIS beloved treasure.
REALITY is that we are loved, accepted, wanted, unique and beautiful.
That’s not a fad, just a fact.
carbonated joy 