Prior to starting The Girls Get Together, I didn’t care how many “friends” I had on Facebook. I only had a Twitter account because it had once been a job requirement, and while I used Pinterest to find birthday party and craft ideas, I had never posted a single thing. In fact, up until about a year ago, I had never even taken a selfie!
But businesses today are expected to have a social media presence, and authors and speakers are required to “build a platform.” So, social media has now become part of my way of life. Every day I have to think about what I am going to post, as well as when and where to post it. In the professional development classes, lessons, and books that I consult, I am constantly reminded to join groups, make comments, engage with others. So, that’s what I try to do, but just let me say, I have no tolerance for drama.
Yesterday, I commented about ways that I get the word out about my services. Another user questioned my comment, and there were several back and forth exchanges between us. By the end, I felt that she was saying that my services weren’t worth the ticket price to my event. Of course, that’s not actually what she wrote; it’s how I read between the lines.
My remarks to her weren’t at all nasty, but the last one was definitely defensive. In fact, the whole exchange left me feeling defensive, and I didn’t like that feeling. So, this morning, I deleted my first comment, which then deleted all the comments that revolved around it.
The second incident was in a group for grieving parents. When a mom posted a question about God’s goodness, I carefully crafted a response. Giving it serious thought, I measured how to share my own faith battles while also pointing to the truth of God’s Word and staying within the limitations of the group’s rules. Then, this morning, I found that another woman had made what I perceived to be a quick, snippy little religious comment directly to me. In any other context, I probably wouldn’t have thought twice about the woman’s words, but today they jarred. Part of my response included, “I know about (insert theological principle here).”
After a few minutes, I thought better about what I said and deleted that comment as well.
I began to wonder why I was feeling so defensive. Then, I realized that the problem was actually my own insecurity and maybe even pride. It hurt my feelings to think that someone didn’t value my services enough to think they were worth a fee. It hurt my pride to think that after having been a Christian for more than 40 years, someone assumed I didn’t understand a very basic theological principle.
Ouch! When I examined the root of my defensiveness, I discovered a bitter root indeed—sin.
As God brought me to a point of repentance over all this, He led me to Ephesians 4. Here are a few of the highlights:
• Lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
• Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other.
• Speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ.
• Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitude.
• Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement.
• Be kind to each other.
When I looked again at the last verse in Ephesians 4, I couldn’t help but smile. Our Lord can be so comical. It was key passage for the “Just Be Kind” speech I had prepared days earlier and delivered today. God had used some very non-dramatic Facebook drama to remind me of my sin and to bring me full circle back to the message He had always intended for me.