Granted, I'm a pastor. I have Type-A tendencies. Ok, my tendencies border on freakish OCD behavior patterns, but...
Few things bother me more than the Facebook 'maybe'. I suppose I could go on and on about the grey areas of our society and the refusal of people to accept absolute standards. I could discuss the great need of people to accept that what is wrong for one person is likely wrong for everyone. I should certainly be concerned about mentioning that someone might have sin in their life.
But I don't believe the Facebook 'maybe' is quite sin. Perhaps if I were coming up with new sins, I would add this to the list. But alas...
Some might think the Facebook 'maybe' did not exist prior to the Internet, but they would be wrong. When I was in high school and asked a girl out on a date, I would normally be told that if they had no other plans, if nobody else called them, if there was nothing good on television and their hair did not need washing, then perhaps I would receive a call telling me that I could pay for their dinner and entrance to a movie. That's a Facebook 'maybe'.
Perhaps this is more akin to hosting a party. When extending invitations, if you are told that their presence depends on certain factors; type of food, music and other guests, you have been given the Facebook 'maybe'.
I have even had people help me plan events, then post a maybe as their RSVP. Am I missing something? Is there a cool factor here that I don't get? Are people simply avoiding stalkers by not letting predators know they will be at a certain party at a certain time on a certain day? Is this like showing up fashionably late?
I long for a world where people would reject you with seemingly no awareness of your silly little feelings. I think we would all be much happier if people told us they had no intention of being seen with us...ever. I believe it was a much nicer world when people laughed at you while walking away. At least then you knew. But today we live in a world where people prefer to keep you guessing. 'Your party may have 200 people. Or it may flop. You just don't know. And you don't know because I won't tell you.'
I don't understand a world that operates in this manner. The Bible I read tells me to let my 'yes' mean yes and my 'no' mean no. It says nothing of any 'maybe'. Does that make it non-Biblical? Will my words of wisdom stem the tide of non-commitment? Will the world come to its' senses and give a yes or a no? Will this line of superior reasoning make any difference at all?
Possibly?
Few things bother me more than the Facebook 'maybe'. I suppose I could go on and on about the grey areas of our society and the refusal of people to accept absolute standards. I could discuss the great need of people to accept that what is wrong for one person is likely wrong for everyone. I should certainly be concerned about mentioning that someone might have sin in their life.
But I don't believe the Facebook 'maybe' is quite sin. Perhaps if I were coming up with new sins, I would add this to the list. But alas...
Some might think the Facebook 'maybe' did not exist prior to the Internet, but they would be wrong. When I was in high school and asked a girl out on a date, I would normally be told that if they had no other plans, if nobody else called them, if there was nothing good on television and their hair did not need washing, then perhaps I would receive a call telling me that I could pay for their dinner and entrance to a movie. That's a Facebook 'maybe'.
Perhaps this is more akin to hosting a party. When extending invitations, if you are told that their presence depends on certain factors; type of food, music and other guests, you have been given the Facebook 'maybe'.
I have even had people help me plan events, then post a maybe as their RSVP. Am I missing something? Is there a cool factor here that I don't get? Are people simply avoiding stalkers by not letting predators know they will be at a certain party at a certain time on a certain day? Is this like showing up fashionably late?
I long for a world where people would reject you with seemingly no awareness of your silly little feelings. I think we would all be much happier if people told us they had no intention of being seen with us...ever. I believe it was a much nicer world when people laughed at you while walking away. At least then you knew. But today we live in a world where people prefer to keep you guessing. 'Your party may have 200 people. Or it may flop. You just don't know. And you don't know because I won't tell you.'
I don't understand a world that operates in this manner. The Bible I read tells me to let my 'yes' mean yes and my 'no' mean no. It says nothing of any 'maybe'. Does that make it non-Biblical? Will my words of wisdom stem the tide of non-commitment? Will the world come to its' senses and give a yes or a no? Will this line of superior reasoning make any difference at all?
Possibly?
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