Earlier this week, my newsfeed filled up with criticism against a prominent Christian leader whose negative comments about another prominent Christian leader were widely unpopular. Later in the week, additional comments were made about a popular singer releasing faith-based music. Comments on both topics varied by person.
I’m not going to talk about either.
My discussions throughout the week on the topic were more along this line:
Why are we so shocked by this leaders comments? This person’s views are widely known. No one is surprised by the opinion (though it could have been worded more graciously). Yet we act shocked. It’s almost like we are searching for things to rage about.
Why do we need to judge the lives of celebrities? We either believe in the power of Christ to change lives or we don’t. We might need to wait to see the fruit of that claim, but in the mean time do we need to predict its lasting value in those who claim salvation?
Why do we all need to weigh in on everything? It seems every comment needs to be countered and ever tweet responded to.
What happened to unity in the body of Christ? Can we turn the other cheek and allow love to cover a multitude of sins?
Social media has its benefits, but sometimes I think it turns us into people who the world would much rather hate than emulate.
And yes, I recognize the hypocrisy in commenting on people commenting. I can be seriously opinionated and loud with those opinions. I try to be gracious, offer the benefit of the doubt, and respond cautiously to media hype. I’m far from perfect.
I think there is a time and a place for responding to comments made in a public forum. I simply think the word count is becoming disproportionate. It has becoming a white noise that has muffled the gospel message.
How can we draw an unbelieving world closer to Christ when we are busy ripping apart our own body?
As we let out love for one another speak for us, we will likely see more people interested in the Christ we follow.
