First, let’s start out with the classic scene from A Few Good Men.
I LOVE that line.
So, this past weekend, I’ve found myself the “victim” of the Facebook block on 2 separate occasions. I figured I would share the circumstances and some observations.
Block #1
Oh, Facebook Ticker, I love you and sometimes loathe you at the same time. I already have a propensity to throw my $.02 in on occasion, and the Ticker just feeds that propensity. The other day I noticed that my cousin, Cody, had chimed in on a wall post by a famous Florida radio personality. The post was something to the extent of, “women have it way harder then men. Men can’t possibly understand. Women should be treated better than men, due to the fact that they are women.” Now, this is my paraphrase.
Cody countered with some comments highlighting the value / worth of men, and basically got virtually stomped on for it. At this point I decided to chime in.
Here’s my thing. We’re all created equal. Period. None of us are better than anyone else. We are all commanded to treat each other as Christ would. The end.
And that was the point I tried to share. Well, one lady went off on me, how I was lucky that my wife / significant other hadn’t decided to get a hysterectomy so she didn’t have to deal with the burdens of womanhood. Now, we’re currently going through our 2nd miscarriage, and I just about went through the roof. Half a dozens replies floated through my mind before rational thought prevailed and I offered what I thought was a calm and honest response.
When I checked the post later I realized I couldn’t see any of the woman’s responses, but I could see replies from other people. I had been the recipient of the Block. Now, Danielle chimed in later on with some awesome responses.
Block #2
On the heels of the emotional posts last night regarding the death of Whitney Houston, I noticed one fly through my Ticker from the page of a well known Pro Life proponent. She had mentioned that she was praying for Whitney Houston’s soul.
I’m sorry, but I don’t find evidence that once someone has stepped into eternity our prayers can effect where they spend said eternity. Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that being absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. In Hebrews 9:27 we read that man is destined to die once and then face judgment.
Perhaps there is a purgatory. I can’t say for sure. But why in the world would you want to gamble your eternity on whether or not purgatory exists. That’s a bet I don’t want to take.
When I went back to the post later on I noticed that I couldn’t comment and that all my comments had been deleted.
I had received The Block.
Now, I get it. This post sounds like I’m just whining about getting blocked by two strangers on Facebook. That’s really not the point I’m trying to make.
Danielle recently posted on the topic of criticism and our ability to hear and handle the truth, even when it hurts. I couldn’t agree more.
Let’s tie this back to the Bible. Let’s take a look at Matthew 16:21-23.
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
In the words of a TV character, “Oh, snap!” Jesus just dropped one of the biggest Truth Bombs ever on his boy Peter. He called him Satan. It does get more harsh or true than that.
If you would grant me some artistic freedom, let’s fast forward a couple thousand years to see how this might have played out if Jesus and Peter used Social Media.
Jesus Tweets / FB posts: I must suffer many things at the hands of man and be killed.
Peter replies / comments: No way, Jesus! That’s not going to happen!
Jesus: Get behind me, Satan!
Peter blocks Jesus from posting on his wall and then hides Jesus. Who does that guy think he is anyway? Peter definitely stops following Jesus on Twitter and blocks him there too.
Peter posts on his Facebook, “can you believe what Jesus called me? He called me Satan. The nerve of that guy.” He Tweets this to all of his followers and causes a rift in Christianity that never completely heals.
Instead, what does Peter do? Well we don’t know what his exact reaction was, but we do know he was ready to lop off ears in the Garden of Gethsemane. Sounds like he handled Jesus’ harsh words pretty well.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
And lest you think I can lob truth bombs and not take them, believe me, in the past few weeks I’ve handled more than my fair share.
Remember Jesus’s words, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free…”