Neither Jesus nor St Paul ever used the word "Christian," yet Paul used the phrase "in Christ" over 150 times. Over the years I have given a lot of thought and prayer to what it means to be a Christian, to be "In Christ." And I would be lying to say I haven't struggled with it, because it is a process--sanctification takes a lifetime.
Sometimes it is easier than other times to be a Christian. Church definitely is one of those places it is easy. Also, in my car, or at home, or with fellow believers. Gets a little harder to be a Christian in the car when someone pulls in front of you and then flips you off. It also isn't easy to quote Psalms when some 15 year old cashier is rude to you, or when your dog throws up on the good rug. And it is extremely difficult to maintain one's Christian decorum and keep pleasant thoughts when friends and family are hateful--especially sisters. And your mom. But I must admit, the most challenging place to be a true Christian these days is not even a place at all, but it sure takes up a lot of our time...the internet.Cyberspace The web. Social media.And, while I do trust in God's omniscience, I seriously doubt Paul or any of the apostles could ever have foreseen Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. Being on FaceBook is a nice pastime, a safe hobby, as long as I don't start taking myself or other FaceBook posts too seriously.
I have Christian friends, and non-Christian friends, but I try to keep things on social media fairly innocuous--as much as I can, I try to stay away from the big three: politics, money, and religion. And, while I want to be myself, I also don't want to just put a bunch of pointless information out there either--there really is such a thing as too many cat videos. One of the most valuable lessons I've learned? Sitting on my hands is the equivalent of biting my tongue when I want to say something a little too hastily, or spout off some sarcastic witticism before I read the entire post, or before I jump to false conclusions about what someone is trying to say. There are enough devil's advocates and internet trolls lurking about cyberspace ready to pounce on a lively debate and discussion to plant seeds of discontent and hate--I don't need to add to that number. And yes, sadly, not everyone really cares about seeing all 9,752 photos of my adorable grandchildren.
There are times I will comment on someone else's post, or deliberately read posts where the obvious objective is to stir the pot, knowing that I will definitely NOT agree with what is being discussed. There is something to be said about an intelligent banter, as long as no one starts getting offensive or shooting their mouth off too much. Sometimes I just like to sit back and read all the comments and replies and comments to the replies. Other times, all it takes is a cursory scan of two or three lines, and I hurriedly hit the page down or back key. And yes, there are subjects I will definitely not entertain thinking, reading, or discussing--not out of fear, but out of respect for God's commandments. Normally, though, the fewer obscenities, the better the grammar and spelling, the more likely a post is to keep my attention; repeated expletives really just highlight someone's small vocabulary, and while minor misspellings are understandable, the post should have some sort of sentence structure that makes sense.
Leading up to the 2016 election, I initially tried to steer clear of posts even hinting at controversy. Then, the more polarized the country became, it became harder to navigate social media and still remain, well, sociable. First I tried to ignore a lot of it, even resorting to "unfollowing" some of my friends because I just couldn't handle all the frenzied feeds popping up on an average day. News hoaxes. Weird links. Suggested websites. Folks screaming at each other IN ALL CAPS. Immediately after the election, there was great mourning by some of friends, and gleeful "i told you so" by others. None of it made me feel any better. Some even made me really sad. At first I commented on a few--initially, only posts that I agreed with. You know, posts celebrating conservative, Christian values. But then I noticed my Christian friends were getting dragged into arguments. And they did not always fare too well. Trolls were jumping in on their comments. Nowhere was safe! Now what? I decided this is all out war! So, I updated my friends list and decided to "follow" all of them. Even my liberal friends.
And that is how, in a recent discussion, I repeated some clever meme I read somewhere about how lately the world seems to worry about offending anyone and everyone but God. I thought it was perfectly germane to the issue being discussed, but another participant did not understand what I meant, so I queried "?????", to which she replied with a long answer about how so-called Christians, in her recent experience, have shown more hate and less acceptance than those who do not profess to be Christians. And then she said, "with all due respect, if we offend people, then we offend God." I was in the middle of rolling my eyes, and then, I took a deep breath. Thought about what she said--she was right. I had used some clever little saying that I thought fit the context, trying to show how righteous I was, and how I could fit in to this conversation and still maintain my superior Christian ethics, and there it was...her simple reply...if we offend people, then we offend God.
So many times, on social media, in the news, in personal encounters, Christians are described as two-faced, racists, bigots, misogynists, and homophobes (we are not). The recent election, unfortunately, has equated Christianity with Trump, and somehow, being Christian now equals close-mindedness, and hatred of all things different. All the hot button topics--gay marriage, abortion, transgender bathrooms, medical marijuana, immigration, poverty, Clinton, Trump, Black Lives Matter, racial profiling--these are gut-wrenching, emotional issues, and are viewed differently by different people. But, as a Christian, being in Christ, I am united to Christ, part of Christ. So when I view these issues, and, stepping out on a limb here, when fellow Christians view these issues, we are all viewing them as we feel Christ views them. We forget that not everyone is using that same frame of reference, so when I as a Christian say abortion is wrong, what the rest of the world hears is "you are wrong." And so the argument begins. Doors slam shut. The walls go up. Fists fly. Flags get burned. Rhetoric is thrown about. Bibles are thumped. And no one comes out any wiser...just madder. More close minded. Backs turned. Arms folded. Unfriended. And the biggest loser? The Gospel.
Because I forget to be In Christ, Christ-like. I stop reflecting Christ when I project my own agenda. I am commanded to love others, to love everyone. Get that board out of my own eye before I get the tweezers out to remove a splinter from my neighbor's eye. How in the WORLD does a Christian profess or exhibit love? By listening. By understanding. With an open mind. And an open heart. The world is listening and watching us. It is not my place to pass judgment. Or convince. Or convict. But to demonstrate, through my actions and words and deeds, how even a sinner such as me (yes, me) is precious in His sight. I am still sinning. And I will keep sinning. But I am also a saint, in Christ, chosen by Him before creation. It is that miracle, that "stupendous reality" as John Piper puts it, that I should be putting across. In person. In all I do. In all I say. And yes, on FaceBook.
Notice we are to be SALT of the world. Not the pepper. Pepper is too spicy. And it makes you sneeze.
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