As pointed out earlier, recently there has been a lot of emphasis in my life about standing for what I believe in. Having proselytized for two years, I have some experience in it, but without the name-tag for my Church and being "normal" once more, it is a little more difficult. Before, that name-tag gave me "permission" to discuss and defend my positions, but now that I am just like everyone else, when I try to make a stand, others think, "Who's this guy?"
Like I said before, I have a guilty pleasure of arguing online. I don't know why, considering I'm a pretty mellow person in, well, person; it might have to do with the fact that since I don't know the person I talk to online, it's a lot harder to empathize with them. Morality is especially a hot topic that I struggle to step away from. In the past, some conversations have gone like this:
Random internet user: Abortion is completely ok! It's the woman's right!
Me: What!?! Abortion is murder! You are terrible for even thinking that!
Random user: Keep your beliefs to yourself, religious bigot!
And we proceed to fight for another few days at the blazing pace of 2 messages per day.
Recently, after learning about loving those around us and how to effectively defend my opinions, I have found it much more practical to be heartfelt, genuine, and compassionate on the internet (yes, it is possible!). When two people truly understand each other, conversation starts to become meaningful.
Christ never forced His opinion on others. When judgment was needed, judgment came, but Christ always sought to give others a chance to speak so He could listen and know how best to have a real, personal conversation with those that may disagree with Him. in Matthew 12, Christ and His disciples plucked some corn to eat on the Sabbath (v. 1). The Pharisees, the ones that gave Christ the most trouble, condemned Him in the next verse for breaking the Sabbath (v. 2). If I were in that situation, I probably would have told them how ridiculous they were and move on, but Christ instead decided to teach them. He began by asking questions to help Himself, and them, understand what they believe the Sabbath to be, and after the discussion, Christ concluded that it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath (vv. 3-12). Unfortunately, they still refused to accept His answer, but Christ had a much greater impact on them by talking with them instead of yelling at them.
I was recently discussing my beliefs within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with some Atheists on the internet. Instead of yelling at the Atheists and calling them names, I attempted to follow Christ's example in having a conversation of understanding. I asked him what he thought of faith and the Spirit, among other things, while he asked me about evidence for my religion. While neither instantly converted, we left each other with a greater comprehension of where the other was coming from. I understood Atheism a little more, and he understood a little more how the Holy Spirit and other things work.
Christ taught that we should be as harmless as doves (Matt. 10: 16). And believe me, we will cooperate a lot better with each other if we follow that advice.
I love this post! I am completely guilty of online arguments, especially over politics. {shiver} I have learned that, well, people on the interwebs are still people. They have feelings just like I do, and even though a lot of us disagree, we still have one thing in common - we are all children of God.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post!
ReplyDeleteYes, and that is the hardest thing I struggle to remember is that behind every aggravating user is a child of God. If we could always remember that, just like you said I think the world would be a lot better off.