We can’t control what others say to us or how they treat us, but we can control our response to them. The Old Testament philosophy of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” isn’t the answer, because we would just wind up with a world full of blind people gumming their soft diets.
Jesus gives us the answer, but it isn’t an easy one. He set the bar really high for his followers when he said, “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! Do good to those who hate you! In that way you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.” (Matthew 5:43-45) I knew Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Christian man of God when I heard him say, “Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a downward spiral ending in total destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate instead of convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love.”
How does all of this apply to Christians living in today’s world? We face an “us or them” culture that often encourages hateful speech or even violence toward those with whom we disagree. I have 254 friends on Face Book that includes close friends, acquaintances and some people I have only met on social media through mutual friends. On that list there are Christians and non-believers; there are members of both political parties; there are people with every shade of skin pigmentation; there are men and women; and there are people of various ethnicities social status and backgrounds. Over the years, I have never unfriended anyone and I have only been unfriended once by a young man who chose to accept a lie about political history from one of his professors. It was history I lived through so I tried to tell him what really happened and he could not accept that his beloved professor was wrong about it.
How do I remain on good terms with all of those diverse people? I refuse to stereotype any group or resort to name calling. I don’t take anything they share from their favorite website personally (even when it appears to be). I state my perspective using personal experience instead of opinion without demeaning other views. But most importantly, I express my love for each of them and I consult the Holy Spirit before posting a comment. Anyone whose anger has a hair trigger should stay away from social media altogether or only use it with close friends.