social media |

You don’t need to look far to see it. It’s running rampant on the internet… Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, in news articles, and most definitely in the comment section off all of the above. Hate, anger, disrespect, name-calling, accusations, insults, character defamation, sarcasm, hate. I think if people could snarl and spit nails over social media, we’d see that too!

Internet anonymity seems to bring out the inner hulk in too many of us!

It’s not okay! It is one thing to have strong feelings and opinions, it’s another thing to attack people because their beliefs differ from ours. It’s not okay to call people names because they disagree with you and me. It’s not okay, to defame their intelligence because they don’t see things our way. It’s not okay to “scream” insults with our keyboards while telling our children to “sprinkle kindness like confetti” and “don’t be a bully.”

The more comfortable that people (including us) become with verbally destroying one another on social media, the more readily it will manifest in person! Think about it, the rioters who are looting and destroying… Do you think this is their first go-around with attacking others? I’m not going out on a limb to say, “No way!” They’ve done it online already if not in person, but they now feel that world events make it socially acceptable to take it to another level regardless of the consequences.

How do we manage to ask a whole nation of social media experts to hold up, think carefully, choose a better pathway? I wish I knew. But we have to start somewhere.

Somewhere is here: #wipeouthate Wednesday.

#Wipeouthate Wednesdays is a chance for us to remember that we are more alike than different! I can wax eloquent here in listing the gazillion ways we are alike! But for brevity, here are some biggies:

We love
We want to be loved
We feel pain
We hurt others
We seek happiness
We work to achieve goals
We want freedom
We appreciate respect
We have values and beliefs
We have melanin in our skin, hair, and eyes
We prefer health over sickness
We prefer life over death
We love

#Wipeouthate Wednesdays for Social Media means:
NO to: political posts, hot topic or current debate posts, conspiracy posts, accusation posts, or even face mask posts! (No rude comments either.)
YES to: encouraging words, kind thoughts, celebrations, positive artistic expression, hopeful ideas, and cute pet pictures! (Lots of positive comments too!)

Think about it… choosing to set aside the things that divide us and focus on the things that unite us??? That’s like a gooey, warm stream of salted caramel sauce pouring over vanilla bean ice cream! Let’s do this!

Live Loved!

Please share on social media!

Tolerance… it’s what our society is calling for…

Tolerance is the willingness to tolerate or allow the existence of someone else’s beliefs or opinions. That means we tolerate other opinions about sexuality, politics, parenting, finances, and even the best pick-up truck. It’s reading someone’s political post or raging social commentary and allowing their thoughts to stand.

If society is calling for tolerance… what are believers called to do?

Well… is God tolerant? Did He allow Adam to do what he believed was right in the Garden of Eden? Did the Lord entertain Moses’ opinion on saving Sodom & Gomorrah? Did He permit the Israelites to have a king that He never wanted them to have? The answer to these questions is “Yes.” Then the implication is that God is tolerant of our opinions and beliefs. Why? Because He outfitted us with the ability to decide for ourselves and He is faithful to His word in allowing us to choose, even when we choose wrongly! Believe it or not… He wouldn’t even block us on Facebook!

There’s a boatload of difference between tolerance and approval. We can tolerate the beliefs and opinions of others without extending our approval. That works out fairly well as most people have no interest in gaining our approval anyway. But somehow, we still find ourselves in the place of trying to decide if we do or don’t approve of someone.

Please, stop… don’t bother with that internal conversation any longer!

Instead, ask yourself, what does Jesus see in this person?
I believe that He would not only tolerate them, but He would embrace them! He DOES embrace them! He embraces us! He steps into our mess and wraps His arms around us… warts and all… our laziness, bad choices, addictions, unfaithfulness, complaining, cussing, sensuality, political rhetoric, prejudices, sports-obsessions, and self-righteousness. Jesus is not standing back deciding whether or not to offer His approval. He purposefully steps towards you and I, opens His arms, tells us He loves us, and asks us to follow Him!

Jesus came as Light and Life so that He could pour into us and send us forth as light and life to a lost world… even a social media world. (John 1:4-5) The precious people in our realm of influence experience His embrace through us!

Skip Morgenson, right, says a prayer while embracing other congregation members during a prayer vigil for the Charlottesville victims at Cornerstone …

We are called to love! Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time for correction, teaching, and wisdom… but most often those opportunities come AFTER relationship is established (and not via social media!) If we cannot embrace others in their mess, we will never get to the point of relationship when we have earned the authority to speak into their lives. Without love, our well-meaning rhetoric grates the ears like clanging symbols! (I Corinthians 13:1-8a)

This embracing love is effectively demonstrated when we don’t see eye to eye with someone we encounter… when their beliefs or opinions don’t line up with ours. Yet, we can still look them in the eye and value who they are simply because they are made in the image of our Heavenly Dad.

Social media is a tool that can drive wedges in relationships or a tool to build bridges of relationships.

Don’t waste your time with foolish arguments; redeem the time for His Kingdom! Be passionate about people, because our Daddy is!