Facebook -- I love it and I hate it. I have a FB page, and several friends. Many of whom do not agree with me, or with each other, on various topics. Most of these topics are benign, like whose baseball team should win the World Series, or whether Clemson University or the University of South Carolina has the best football team. (Go Tigers!)
Some of these things, however, are controversial. Like abortion, corporal punishment, the Second Amendment, school choice, capital punishment, and politics. I have opinions on all those topics. Very strong opinions. But I very rarely, if ever, voice them on Facebook.
Why?
Several reasons, really, the main one being I don't like where "discourse" in this country is going. Or not going, as the case may be. One person jumps on FB and posts a comment with a strong pro- or anti- opinion on one of the above topics. Someone else jumps in with an opposing view. Sometimes, they are civil. Most of the time, they are not. Then the original poster gets angry, and the original two, plus various supporters on each side, jump in and call names, cast aspersions, get ugly and personal. It's just not worth it.
I am called to be salt and light in this world. Christ said that the world will know us by our LOVE. Not by our clinging to our "rights" or clinging to our opinions. I cannot win someone to Christ if I will not love them. And calling ugly names is not loving someone, no matter how important the issue is. It will not matter in eternity where someone stood on the sanctity of life if they have rejected Christ. And woe to me if they reject Christ because of me, because they know I claim His name. Christ was humble. Yes, He stood up to corruption within His people. He called THEM names, said "harsh" things to them. But why? Because He was zealous that people be able to get to Him, and to His Father, and these people were standing in the way.
Sound much like today's discourse with so-called Christians? Are we standing in the way of people coming to Christ by the way we talk, to them and each other, when we disagree? Would those names that Christ called the Pharisees and other leaders of HIS people back then fit us today? Would they fit me? All too often, the answer is "yes."
I'll admit -- this is an area of weakness for me. I like being "right." I like having just the thing to say to fire back at someone who is "wrong." I know if I post something, or comment on something, that a firestorm might ensue. That things will be said to me, and I will say things back. And I will have hard feelings toward the person who was harsh or just plain mean. So, I keep my thoughts to myself. I prevent myself from sinning in the future by not speaking now. Generally, the point I would have made is already being articulated by someone else anyway. It's a way of loving others for me. Others can handle the back-and-forth with grace; without firing back, or holding a grudge. I struggle with those two things, so I keep quiet.
Another reason is this -- I will not change someone's mind with a FB post. I will not make someone see things "my" way. And they will not change mine. The best I can hope for is an "agree to disagree." Which, in my opinion, is best done one-on-one and face to face. You see, tone is lacking on a FB status or comment. I may write something that is sarcastic in my head, but it may be read seriously. (Or vice-versa.) Plus, once something is "out there," it is out there for all time. Ten years from now, that topic may be moot, but the harm I may have caused will still stand.
Finally, I do not know everything about everything. Often, the topic involves the "controversy du jour." And I rarely have all the facts. I do not know the situation, the ins and outs of various things. Sometimes, what seems to be the case isn't, and the unlikely is exactly what happened. It is best to hold my tongue (or, as it has been said, "better to be silent and thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.")
So, generally, I keep quiet on controversy on FB, saving my opinions for those who know me and my heart. Afterall, my primary objective is to be salt and light, and the best way to do that is to LOVE others.
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