I am just as guilty as anyone else who gets into a nonsensical argument on social media that will not even make a dent of a difference in the world. As much as I attempt to stay away, I find myself falling for another trap and getting involved in arguments that are useless. When I continued to see this discourse and how it is affecting people’s images of others, I decided to ponder upon it. Then, I saw a robot or what some consider a “bot” stirring up controversy on a hot-button issue. It’s bad enough that politicians and people who have the time to spend all day on social media stir up trouble, and now, we must be aware that some of those are just robots. So, why do we fall for it?
Someone somewhere is controlling the atmosphere. Without being a psychologist, they also understand the dynamics that pull people into commenting on issues of which they are passionate. There it is. They find our passions. They know from history how people will respond when our passions are being attacked. It’s fine to defend our passions. What we must begin to understand is that because we are passionate about an issue doesn’t mean that we are experts or know the full truth or are empathetic to those whose passions may be different or opposite of ours.
I have discovered in recent times that everyone is an expert…about everything. Take an issue and the next thing you know, they know every detail about it, or so they think. Just because a church, a political party, or a news outlet aligns with your views, does not make it correct or you an expert. Is anyone besides Jesus a true expert? Didn’t we learn during the lockdowns that experts can be wrong? You can have knowledge about a subject, but that doesn’t mean you are an expert. We must become humble and acknowledge that we may not know everything about everything.
Instead of being experts, we must become learners. When we discover an issue in the world that bothers us, we must research what the truth is with that issue. Once we discover all the details, we realize that not only are we not experts about an issue, but we may have been wrong. Whether we discover if we are right or wrong, we must search for the truth. Without truth, we sound ignorant because we bought into the lie. With those lies, we insult people. Truth is essential to squash the disunity in our society, especially on social media.
For centuries, people have been searching for truth. When Jesus told Pilate that every one of the truth testifies that Jesus is king, Pilate asked, “What is truth?” Pilate didn’t understand truth because he lived by his truth instead of the truth. We cannot just spew our truth, which is based on our life experiences. We all have unique life experiences. We all have lived within our own upbringings and cultures. That creates a diverse society. What we must begin to understand is that other people have lived other experiences. We must begin to learn from others. If we are continuous learners, we will discover the truth over what we perceive to be true.
When an issue arises in society, instead of jumping on the side of your political or religious views, research the subject. Find the truth. Religious leaders have been wrong. They misuse the Bible to force people to obey their standards. When you research the subject, you discover information that is not in the media. You discover information that has been eliminated from the public view, which should be concerning. The truth will set you free. It sets us free from getting into the debates because we know the truth. It sets us free from misunderstandings because we know what the truth is. Once we know the truth about an issue, we then can understand other people and our empathy grows.
When we are followers of Christ, we know we don’t have to get into the petty debates because we understand that Jesus has room for everyone. Since Jesus has room for everyone, so can we. We don’t have to water down the Bible or the theology of Jesus. We must take a walk in the path of someone else. Most of us do not know what it is like to live in a different country other than America. There’s nothing wrong with that. However, we must admit that we have no idea what life is like in a country with living standards that are different from ours.
If we admit that we don’t understand the living standards of people in other countries, we can admit that we don’t know what it is like to live the lives of others in our own communities. Everyone has their own peculiarities. Each person is an individual. Without empathy, we are rude and unkind. The fighting breaks friendships because we didn’t take the time to understand the other person and his or her struggle.
We as Christians must do better. It is one of the factors that is driving people away from the church. Who wants to be involved with a group of people who are perfect and know everything about everything? Jesus didn’t work with the perfect. Research the way his disciples behaved, and you will realize that Jesus had empathy for humans, and He set the perfect example for us to have empathy for others.
Take time this week to research an issue that you are passionate about. Go beyond the first topic on the Internet. Dig deep and have conversations with people who are dealing with those issues. Instead of jumping on a bandwagon with the group that you agree, take a stroll in the other lane, and discover why people may think differently from you.
It all comes to the point that we must have love and respect for human beings. No one human is the same as the other. We are not clones. Some of us refuse to be put into a box with the clones that people try to create. Let us live the passage in 2 Timothy 2. “Flee from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. But reject foolish and ignorant disputes because you know that they breed quarrels. The Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient, instructing his opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance leading them to the knowledge of THE truth.” (2 Timothy 2:22-25; CSB) Let us pursue righteousness, flee from quarrels, and be led to knowledge of THE truth.
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