Cherish Life

God is our giver of life, and I believe He desires for us to enjoy life and to enjoy His presence daily.
Psalm 36 says:
7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
9 For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.

We certainly have the ability to appreciate the life that God has given to us, and the life He has given to all - because we all have been given life by Him, that means we can develop a high view of the sanctity of life and seek to preserve it - that means life for the pre-born and for those who are nearing the end of their lives.  We should not seek to take or alter the life of another, because we recognize that he or she possesses the image of the Creator.

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In his bold declaration at Mars Hill, Paul established God as the life-giver, according to Acts 17:
24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
25 Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.

It appears that vlogger Logan Paul is taking some time off after irresponsible use of social media.  Although I can't see where he has been banned from posting his videos on YouTube, he certainly has crossed the lines in the minds of many.  So, his Twitter feed's last post was on January 3 and reads that he is taking "time to reflect."

I think that Paul is one of many who really should take a self-imposed "time out" from social media. In case you're not familiar with it, here are some elements of the story, according to Faithwire.com:

Paul was filming one of his daily vlogs at the Japanese forest Aokigahara, a well-known suicide site. The YouTube star and a couple of his friends decided it would be funny to camp out in the forest for a night while filming their experience.

They titled the video: “We found a dead body in the Japanese Suicide Forest.”

As the group trekked through the undergrowth, they came across a man who was hanging from a tree. “Did we just find a dead person in the suicide forest?” Paul said to the camera, openly laughing about the situation. “This was supposed to be a fun vlog.”

The response was negative and almost immediate.  Paul offered a tepid apology on Twitter, but it didn't wash with people.  He tried again, and in a video apology, again posted on Twitter, he stated, “I have made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgment, and I don’t expect to be forgiven...”

An online petition was started, which now has well over 500,000 signatures.

And, YouTube has received its share of criticism, according to Faithwire:

Others have criticized YouTube for keeping the video live for so long. The disturbing and graphic video was viewed by around six million people before being removed. The majority of Paul’s fans are under 18.

“Paul deleted the video less than 24 hours after posting it following outrage, but not before it had been okayed by YouTube’s moderation team,” wrote Jon Russell at TechCrunch.

So, Logan Paul is taking time to reflect, meanwhile, YouTube is taking time to deflect.  Chief business officer Robert Kyncl told the BBC that it took 10 days for the channel to admit that the video shouldn't have been published because..."We were trying to determine the right course of action, which is what took the time. And we decided that the video should come down..." This was after Paul had taken it down himself.

But, Paul will face some punishment, according to the website, Engadget.  And, YouTube is changing its criteria for its more popular contributors.  The website says:

...YouTube will now manually review uploads from accounts that are part of its Google Preferred ad tier, which lets brands publish advertisements in videos from the top five percent of YouTube creators.

The shift is notable because it means YouTube will rely less on algorithms to catch bad actors, something that social media companies are finally realizing needs to happen.

Also...

Although Paul's channel "Logan Paul Vlogs" still lives on the platform, YouTube has put on hold the original projects he was working on for YouTube Red, its paid ad-free streaming service. It also terminated his lucrative Google Preferred ad deal, and while he will still be able to monetize his content, not being a part of that advertising package likely won't earn him nearly as much money. For context, he was reportedly the fourth highest-paid YouTuber in 2017, according to Forbes, earning an estimated $12.5 million -- thanks to Preferred, his Maverick apparel line and sponsored posts on social media.

I participate in YouTube, and appreciate the opportunity to circulate content to an additional audience.  Sometimes I get a handful of views; others break through and reach thousands.  But, there is always a key component in the arena of social media use: discretion.  Sure, you have people that want to shock and offend, but an audience's sensibilities can only take so much; and while I think that the lines have moved or been blurred, I am glad to know that hundreds of thousands found Logan Paul's attempt to minimize and mock a very serious subject did not go unnoticed.

In Japan, you have a place where people actually to go to take their lives.  Faithwire reports:

Japan has one of the highest rates of suicide in the developed world and Aokigahara has become a notorious location for those seeking to end their own lives. In 2010, authorities recorded more than 200 suicide attempts, with 54 fatalities.

And, people are taking constructive action to try to lower that rate.  The Faithwire site states:

Officials have also erected signs at the forest’s entrance, urging suicidal visitors to seek help and not take their own lives. “Think carefully about your children, your family, one reads, with another declaring: “Your life is a precious gift from your parents.”

I think there is a responsibility that we have as the Church to identify those who are troubled in our midst and attempt to intervene.  Unfortunately, people can become so despondent that they do not see the point in living any further.  We have to make sure that we are communicating hope to this world and possess the perspective that life is ordained by God and worth living.

Finally, we have to always make sure that we are extolling the giver of life and that we recognize His control over matters of life and death.  We must cherish our lives and give God praise for this precious gift - the ability to live.  And, we know that we have opportunity to walk with Him, to honor Him, and bring Him glory.