Tonight I watched the movie “The Social Network” about Mark Zuckerberg and the founding of Facebook. Very good film. From what I read after watching the film it was inspired by a true story. Which means it took some real events and then had fun saying whatever it wanted. I could go into a diatribe about Aaron Sorkin (the writer) but I won’t since I don’t really care.
What I do care about is the idea that Facebook was started less than 8 years ago and is now a company with a valuation of 25 billion. Wowzer! If that weren’t enough the site makes money by providing something that we all want – community, relationship, connection. Its free, its clean, it fulfills a need. Many may say “why didn’t I think of that?” but not me. I wouldn’t have had the foggiest idea of how to execute it. Ideas are cheap and abundant. Execution is expensive and scarce.
All that to say, I was inspired by the film. Many believe the film was a hack job against someone who has become very successful and they may be right… actually I mean left. Irregardless, my capitalistic soul was challenged. Everyone dumps on Scrooge for being a capitalist, but if it weren’t for him Tiny Tim’s dad would be unemployed and they’d all be in even worse shape. Plus when Scrooge got his heart right he also had the resources to make a difference. Money wasn’t the problem, it was the love of money and lack of concern for others that plagued Scrooge… but I digress.
So what’s the connection between Facebook and Cells? Good question. My wife told me about a new treatment for burn victims using that person’s own stem cells. The stem cells are used in a spray that is put on the burn area and the stem cells actually regrow skin. The possibilities for the usage of these magic cells is only beginning to be discovered. Also interesting to note, these aren’t baby stem cells but stem cells that we all still have active in our bodies. Score one for those that believe you can have both morality and scientific progress. But hey, if you still want to kill babies there’s a doctor in West Philadelphia looking for work.
And now to the connection – I heard or saw both of these things today. Wala!
But if I had to make a more meaningful connection it would be about possibilities. God has created a world of immense possibilities. From the beginning the potential was there for film, TV, computers, Internet, telephones, electricity, penicillin… you name it and the potential for it was encoded in our world at creation. Now the discovery and means to execute the idea into real world application took a lot of hard work, tenacity and creativity, but the potential was there from the beginning.
I believe that even now we are still only scratching the surface of the potential that God has hard wired into nature and us. Some can’t wait to get to heaven to see all the cool things God has made. I’m with Jesus when He says the Kingdom of Heaven is here. I suspect God can’t wait to see all of the cool things we come up with.
Facebook is just one of thousands of people and companies that tapped into a need and met that need benefiting both themselves and mankind. I’m not an utopianist, but I do believe that there is the potential to have a heaven here on earth. The only guide lines it appears to me are A) Honor/Love God, B) Serve/Help Others, C) Do it with all your might.
While the ideas that are banging around in my head may be great ideas, they are a waste of brain matter if I don’t roll up my sleeves, put my shoulder to the grind stone and mix my metaphors.
‘Cause the only thing sadder then that last joke is the cell from which it came not living up to his potential.
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