Sunday Writing... 10-20-19... "BOGO to JOMO"

Good morning!

Today we get a lesson in acronyms in the writing, "BOGO to JOMO."  Read on to find out how these abbreviation words apply to our faith life.

Blessings,
Jan

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Today's Devotional: 

"BOGO to JOMO"

by

Jan Andersen

In our world of acronyms we have quite an alphabet soup of abbreviations used in our communications.  This century has shown a number of “-O-O” acronyms.  I first ran across it as BOGO, or “buy one, get one” as in getting the 2nd duplicate item for a smaller price or free. And me, being the “coupon queen” as my hubby calls me, just can’t resist a great BOGO!  Then came YOLO, “you only live once,” reminiscent of “go for the gusto” or life is short so go ahead and do it.  That one gives people an excuse to let go of inhibitions, often to do something not too intelligent and not to their advantage - kind of a “Carpe Diem for stupid people” per the Urban Dictionary.  It has led to the demise of sobriety for many, as well as other things. 

Then we have FOMO, “fear of missing out.”  It usually means a fear or anxiety produced by being separated from one’s cell phone and/or social media, or by seeing some exciting event on social media happening elsewhere, and that you might miss out on joining in.  People become anxious and worry they might miss something if they can’t keep checking their phone for instant messages, which you can see evidence of just sitting in a restaurant as those around you have their noses buried in their cell phones.    It has become a sad commentary on our society for many.

Finally we come to JOMO, “joy of missing out.”  This is where people are happily disconnected from their electronics and enjoying a break or purge or fast or whatever you want to call it from social media.  It is the joy of being in the here and now, living in the moment, not on social media trying to look good to others or trying to be like others.  Or they see things on social media happening elsewhere and are glad they are far from it!  For me, it is going out on a hike to identify birds or take pictures of the wild horses we have nearby.  I’m looking forward to even more time for JOMO when I retire!

These “-O-O” acronyms can all be helpful reminders for us as Christians.  First, our salvation was bought for us by Jesus Christ on the cross, so there is no need for us to pay anything for it - not even a BOGO to get the free gift of eternal life!  YOLO can remind us that we only have one life to live on this earth, and we need to remain faithful to God and share the gospel with others who also only live once. There may be no time to do it later - it is a matter of eternal life and death.  When we have FOMO we need to think about what is most important in life, and that is being content in Christ.  There is no need to fear missing out on what everyone else is doing, when the most important thing is right inside of us - our faith in Jesus. Finally, JOMO is what we experience as we receive the peace from God that changes our anxiety into joy.

Psalm 94:19  When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul. 

So, salvation is not a BOGO, it is a free gift from God!  Since YOLO, keep the faith and share the good news. Turn your FOMO to JOMO and let God make all your fears and anxieties turn to joy.

Dear God, we thank you for the free gift of salvation by grace through faith in your one and only Son.  Help us to place our trust in you so our fears may become joy and shine to the whole world!  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.     

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Song:
JOY
Rend Collective

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Prayers are lifted up daily for you by the Devotional Writers and the Monthly Writing Staff of Women's Focus Ministries

Blog writers:

Sandy Billingham, Karen Bennett,

Brother Thomas Ukwute, Jody Ward,

Bre Miller, Lynda Kinnard, Amie Spruiell,

Debbie Rodriguez, Carol Steficek,

Jan Andersen and Corinne Mustafa