Monday, January 24, 2011

Food for Thought

I've been really convicted lately about honesty and transparency. And the guy who started me thinking about it all posted this question on his blog over the weekend:

What I'm wondering is how honest do you want people to be? If your pastor is steaming mad one night, venting to his wife about what some jerk at the church said, do you want him to tweet about it? Do you want to know? And if you don't, is it because that wouldn't be wise, or because you want to think your pastor is somebody he isn't?

It's the last question that got me. Do we censor our honest thoughts and reactions because we just want to appear holy (or at least holier than the person who just made us angry)? Are we giving people a true representation of ourselves?

I think that a filter is necessary in some situations - if we didn't restrain ourselves during critical moments, our testimonies could be ruined with one thoughtless sentence.

But sometimes, are we and the people we admire in our churches and lives practicing a fake turn-the-other-cheek mentality, a false version of who we really are, of who God made us to be? And if we are, are we doing almost as much damage to the testimony that God wants us to live out as we would by speaking out of turn?

Yep. More tension.

3 comments:

Jane said...

Well, as far as tweeting and facebooking and such, I for one don't put overly personal stuff - especially things about fighting with Jason and wishing co-workers would move to Montana. Now, I think those who know me at all, KNOW I sometimes argue with my husband and that others get on my nerves. I don't think I'm trying to hide who I am, my faults, the fact that I sin, or trying to make others think I am someone I am not. But Twitter and Facebook are not the place to share that. At least not if you are "friends" with people who knew your name in high school.

I see the deeper issue, though. I think we should all be honest about our faults, weaknesses, etc. Especially with our brothers and sisters. Especially if we are praying for one another and seeking out ways to overcome these things and draw closer to God.

To post such things on social networks seems to be inviting drama more than those things, however. So I don't think the two mix. But I do see what he (and you) mean there about honesty and I agree. I think it makes our testimonies MORE powerful if we show our humanity along with our aim at being more like Christ.

Amanda said...

Jane, I completely agree. I wasn't so much thinking of the tweeting/Facebook aspect on my end - some people fall under the Completely Stupid category when they post on Facebook and/or Twitter. I sometimes think "that dude's not going to have a job tomorrow morning" after reading some posts. I definitely think we should all practice cautious facebooking. :-)

Jane said...

Or "That girl may not have a husband tomorrow." :)