What Lie Are You Feeding?
Do we even recognize what we’re being fed? Like what we see on our social media feed or the news station we watch is tailored towards what they want us to see most of the time. Then everyone is making their own statements (including me at times) based on the lens at which they see things. No wonder every other person gets offended when others don’t agree with them. Now I will say, some posts are much more productive than others, even if they are a little biased, and others are just dumb no matter how you spin it. Without getting into that tangent though… Even if we don’t say anything when we see something we don’t agree with, we subconsciously add up marks against that person. Slowly, but surly, we have a prejudice against them and so much of what they stand for (or what we think they stand for).
What I’m learning is that this isn’t as much about black verses white or even black verses cops (though some of it is). Most of us just want to be heard and we’re all prone to lumping one type of person into a category with the whole, which we simply cannot do.
I debated taking down what I’ve shared the past couple weeks on my Facebook wall because the last thing I want is for some of my friends to think I don’t see them or that I don’t care what they’ve faced, especially my black friends, but the problem is I still strongly believe what I’ve shared to be true as well. Some people see it as an either/or situation, but I strongly believe both can actually exist. So, I’ve decided to leave what I’ve already posted as is, yet not say anything else politically from this point on. Sharing our political feelings on social media will never solve anything except create more division. At the end of the day, my goal is not division and I doubt that is yours either, but something has to change if we really desire unity in our broken country.
What would the world look like if we stopped posting about what we think and started entering into more actual conversations about what’s shaped our perspectives? I know we can’t do that with the masses and I’ve actually had to take a step back from the conversation myself because I was spending every ounce of my time and energy in these (good and fruitful) conversations and that's not healthy either. With that said, social media has hindered us from crucial, personal relationships in a lot of ways. Relationships used to be more genuine and now they’re often about agendas. How many people liked my post? How many people have viewed my story? I’m honestly probably going to purge my friends list not because I’m a jerk, but because I don’t need everyone and their mom to know my life in order for it to have meaning.
I recently took a few days to stop scrolling through social media. After a little cleanse, I started getting back on for a few minutes a day. I get off whenever I start feeling it’s dangerous pull to put people in a box and/or when I see things that cause me to live in fear. Some people have told me I’m running away from the problem, but I say it’s just a healthy boundary that helps me see people as people and not just a statistic.
You know, I’ve always thought it was interesting that Steve Jobs, the inventor of our popular iphone, wouldn’t let his own kids have one themselves. I’m just now picking my nose up enough to realize the dangers of our addiction. Like I’ve kind of known what it was doing to me, but I didn’t give it enough thought in order to care. Maybe you think that sounds dramatic, and so did I, but I’m seeing more clearly now.
Things so readily available to us on our phones are changing us as a society. We are quick to anger, assumption, judgement, etc. We don’t know how to cope with failure, which is actually the stepping stone to success. We don’t know how to ask questions, which leads to true growth. We are prone to skepticism and ill-intentions of others because we’ve been fed so much fake news. I fear for where we are heading as a society if we don’t take back control of our lives.
At times I struggle to get off things like Facebook and Instagram. The fear of missing out is real, though I’m not one who gets super caught up in that most of the time. Seeing what it’s doing to us is not worth it. I keep recalling Matthew 5:30, “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut if off.” Cutting something off in your life is not easy, though it’s causing you harm, which will eventually lead to death. That’s why most people won’t make drastic changes in their life and fight for a better thing. Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” It’s easier to stay where you are, but is it worth it?
