I love reading people’s online comments. The story that has caught my attention and filled that ‘I-simply-must-know’ gap should be enough, but for reasons that I simply cannot explain, I allow myself a glimpse into the dark psychological cesspool that is the angry, biased, politically-angered and seemingly unloved heart of the Internet Post Commentator. I don’t just hang around for the comments (with a bowl of popcorn at hand) so that I catch the great internet smack downs, I really do it because people fascinate me. In the past I would order a cup of coffee in a restaurant and ‘people watch’. Are they happy today? Are they in love? Are they making a big business decision, or are they just pretending to look busy to avoid that looming deadline, like a professional procrastinator? I sometimes even added my own commentary to try and add some flavour to an otherwise boring demeanor! It’s just that I think we seldom see people’s reality. They always hide behind a mask and we never get to see the real person, but if one can see them when they think no one is watching, they let their guard down and they are real. I’m hoping to see some ‘real’, that’s all.
They always hide behind a mask and we never get to see the real person
In the anonymity of cyberspace, the ‘real’ is not hidden! In fact it’s probably a bit extreme but it’s a glimpse into what people are really thinking or feeling about something. My favourite online news site seems to house the biggest loons but I can tell you one thing; people are angry. They seem desperate too, and disillusioned. There’s this lack of hope that things will be better and their desperation makes them just plain nasty! The things they say hurts others, and they don’t let up! The lower the blow the better and I imagine they sit around waiting for the counter punch, because it’s only seconds later that their bitter retort springs forth. On and on it goes. I worry these people beat their wives or kick their pet cats, because they are aang-greee!
There’s this lack of hope that things will be better and their desperation makes them just plain nasty!
As a Jesus follower, I’m all about encouraging people and making a difference but some of these people just seem so hopeless! You can’t go and comment ‘Jesus loves you’ to calm them down, because what does that even mean to an atheist? And we all know how our beliefs will be battered online. So do we even comment? Do we offer hope and a fresh insight into the situation? I think the only thing we can do is shift back to reality. The internet can be a powerful tool for evangelism (go check out www.yesheis.com, for example), but instead of joining the throng of verbal bomb-droppers, a good ol’ chat in which we share, for example, that we also crave hope… surely that gives us more of a voice? We know the ‘giver of Hope’ (Romans 15:13) and it’s our task to introduce them to Him.
So connect with people. Talk to them, face to face, and let them know where your hope is found, and how that has changed your views and your thinking. (1Peter 3:15) Let them read a comment from someone with hope, someone with an understanding of how much purpose God has placed in them, with a heart for others and the confidence in our Father.