Gina Caswell Kelly
How did we gripe about stuff before we had social media? How on earth did anyone ever know what our opinion was before we had Facebook? Were our very valuable opinions about EVERYTHING simply going unstated? Did we actually live in a world where people contacted, oh lets say Sonic, about their order being wrong, and had no way of letting the world know what heinous act had been committed by omitting the onions from our burger? Oh how difficult life was before social media! Or was it?
It has gotten all too easy for us to rake a business or even an individual over the coals on social media. We look for ulterior motives in everything from the election of a President to our electric bills! In my humble opinion, we have gotten mean. We used to be much more patient and much more trusting. Now, we think someone is up to something if our grocery bill is bigger than it was last month. Or if the school makes a decision that does not necessarily favor us. And it is not just business or organizations that are the recipients of the backlash. It has become common place for people to call each other out on social media for one perceived injustice or another. As my daddy used to say, “Brethren, these things ought not be!”
God did not create us to be mean and vindictive. He created us to show His love to the world. All the world. I am not really sure what God thinks about social media. After all, it can be used for lots of good, as well! We can invite others to church. We can share what He has done in our lives. Chances are, you may even be reading this column on social media. It can certainly be used for very good things.
In our lives, we have a calling, as God’s children. His calling on our lives is to represent Him in all we do. We are called to show the world Jesus in our own lives. We are called to represent healing to a hurting world. It is pretty hard to do these things if all we are doing is griping about one thing or another.
How about we give it all a break? How about we go back to recognizing that everyone is most likely just trying their best in this world? How about we offer each other grace? I mean, we are the recipients of the most grace ever offered! “God showed His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” If He can offer you that kind of grace, can you not offer someone else a little grace? It will make a difference!
