Here name Is Emmy and I love her blog so much I asked if she would write a guest post. She was very happy to and I am grateful. Remember to check her out at any of the links at the bottom of this posting.
Hello, friends! I'm Emmy and I am a city girl, who after graduating college found myself working as a youth minister in a small town. Other than adjusting from the culture shock, you'll most likely find me reading a good novel (probably Harry Potter), writing on my blog or one of my fictional stories, hanging out with my dog, or helping with the local community theatre. Life out in the "real world" is crazier than I thought it would be, but with a little bit of love and a little bit of coffee, I make it through one day at a time, as I try to figure out what God has in store for me. I would love for you to join me!
GUYS.
I met a boy the other day.
It was at a party, we hung out, flirted, he was really sweet, cute, had tattoos, loved Jesus, and it was awesome. Nothing crazy over the top, but considering that in the town I live in I haven't found ANY guy that I've been into. ANY. The spontaneous flirt session was welcome.
That is what I wrote about on my Tumblr the other day. (I have a private Tumblr that only about five people know about.) Then... someone commented.
They quoted a verse from Leviticus about how tattoos were bad and said they hoped this guy had fun burning in hell.
WHAT?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?
First of all - CLEARLY this person completely missed the point that I met a boy. Don't we know what the important things are in life? Come on now. ;)
Second - just... WHAT?
So I commented back, trying to explain God's grace.
He commented back talking about the Bible contradicting itself.
This is an old story. We've heard it time and time again. I remember several years ago, I would step up to any theological and religious debate. I would have my Bible verses and little comparisons that my youth leaders taught me so I could "defend the faith."
At first it's because you genuinely want the other person to know and understand God's love. Because it's so amazing and wonderful and out of this world. It's the best thing a person can know.
Then... you get to a point when that's not what it's about anymore.
It's about winning the argument. It's defending your pride. Being the last one to have a say.
The thing is guys - we don't have to defend God. God is a big boy. He can defend himself.
After a little while I stepped away from what could turn into a huge online battle. I posted that I wasn't going to say anything more because arguing wasn't going to be showing Gods love. People commented back about how they killed my dreams and they had the last word.
It was really tempting to post again and try to explain God's love again.
But I didn't.
A few minutes later I saw this:
“He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.” - Elbert Hubbard
All that person wanted was to pick a fight. It's hard to know when to step away, but sometimes you just have to. Because if they don't understand why you're stepping away, they aren't going to understand what you're going to say either.
That's why I do my best to not step up to religious arguments and debates anymore.
They don't really show God's love. Because it ends up being about your pride - and not Jesus.
If someone is insulting what you believe in, keep going. It'll be okay. Pray for them. Continue to show God's love.
Besides, Jesus said that people will know us by our love. That doesn't have to be with words.
Also, I'm now in that awkward stage of "is he going to try to contact me?" "Should I try to contact him?" "What if I misread those signals?" "What if he really wasn't into me and he's just nice to everyone?" "If I try to contact him will he think I'm some weird stalker chick?"
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Oh life.
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If the Internet has taught us one thing, it's that cowards become big, bad bullies when you give them a keyboard and a sense of anonymity. If you had continued to argue with him, it would have ultimately amounted to nothing...he would just keep flooding you with BS until you became more frustrated and either lashed out or just walked away. You made the right call.
ReplyDeleteTypical internet gangsta-- so tough behind the keyboard. You did the right thing. I always want to argue back, but sometimes the best thing is to just ignore and not fan the flames!
ReplyDeleteGirl, I hear you. I got into my first internet flame war—in YEARS—the other day. It was tame, by comparison, but it just got my blood pressure UP! It wasn't worth it, I didn't miss that feeling. I shouldn't have even indulged this troll. Sometimes I forget to pick my battles.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I learned a saying several years back. I'll tell you when we reunite again, I wouldn't be caught dead posting it online. It's terribly irreverent.
Awesome way to look at it. We've had the tattoo debate in church too - most of us have at least ONE - and we've simply come to the conclusion that if it glorifies God and it was thoroughly thought about, go for it. You handled this like a pro:)
ReplyDelete