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Is Comparison Always Bad?
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” I’ve been hearing that for decades. But is it, always? Examples of how true that is, most certainly abound. I recently read my friend Amy’s Facebook account of her college experience. A gifted singer, she was a jazz vocalist major at a university known for its excellent music program. The only problem was that she had a friend and classmate who was so much better than Amy. She used to go home on weekends and bemoan the difference to her parents, asking why they couldn’t be jazz musicians like her friend’s parents. She eventually changed her major to pre-med, which was easier in comparison.…
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What is it like to be “Unseen”?
Do you live your life wanting to be seen or unseen? Whether seated in an office maze of cubicles, standing behind a podium before a grand audience, or mopping up spilled milk and cereal for the third time today, we want to be acknowledged, understood, and liked. Our current world of social media has not helped our helpless and desperate desire to be noticed. These days if we do not post a photo of our dinner out, our vacation, our birthday, our promotion, or our child’s new accomplishment, it’s as though it never happened. Additionally, we want our online friends to see, like, or love our posts. Only if the…
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Are You Lamenting or Whining?
We live in a culture of complainers. Everywhere we turn, we hear complaints. The culture’s bad. The neighbors are bad. Life’s not fair. Why can’t we have what we want when we want it. You know what I’m talking about. I listened to a sermon series1 recently on the book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk looked around him, seeing all the injustice, and challenged God on why He wasn’t doing anything about it. Habakkuk asked God a bunch of “why” questions and “how could you let that happen” questions. The speaker asked this question, “Was Habakkuk lamenting or just whining?” That question struck me. The answer has stuck in my brain for…
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True Super Hero: A Tribute to Chadwick Boseman
Should we blame social media that people deem themselves privy to the intimate matters of others? Somewhere along the way we lost our respect for privacy. On a job interview this year, I met a young woman who told me she has to pump breast milk during her commute home. As a healthcare worker—not fazed. All fine to that point. Then she asked me if I have children (which always makes me cringe because I can predict what follows.) I told her I do not, and quickly added that I’m fifty years old. She said I don’t look my age. Nice! I thought disclosing my age would make her…
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To Tell the Truth: Integrity and Social Media
COVID-19 mania grips the world right now. And I have noticed a great many posts on social media during this season that include unkind words, poorly documented “facts” or just plain false information. I wrote the bulk of this post several years ago, but its message seems more necessary than ever today: Are you like me? Controlling my words is an area where I must exercise vigilance. Lately negative social media posts are on the upswing. Lies and exaggerations are not uncommon. The “share” button is another potential pitfall. I am convinced that words matter—whether spoken or written. Psalm 34:12-14 challenges me: “Do you want to really live? Would you…
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Are We Losing Our Souls?
I’m been very disturbed the last few years by the types of posts I’ve seen on social media coming from Christians. Full of lies and hatred, they divide Christians from one another and paint those who disagree as monsters. Jesus famously said, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and because of the gospel will save it. For what benefit is it for a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his life?” (Mark 8:34-36). In context Peter has just…
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My Sin is Not Sexy
I have come to the fundamental understanding that I am LAZY! I even googled it! I WikiHow’d the title “How to stop being a slob.” While we all joke about being lazy now and then it goes far beyond that. After much denial I am ashamed to say I struggle with the sin of slothfulness or laziness. We're past procrastination. I dream about accomplishing things that I never start. I miss deadlines. I am often late. I have a problem. Waking up is the beginning of my troubles; I am the type of person that sets the alarm 30 minutes early so I can hit the snooze button a dozen…
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When Things Get Crazy on Social Media: Responding Biblically to Firestorms
Over the weekend, a firestorm erupted over some viral videos of some high school students allegedly harassing a Native American veteran who was chanting and banging a drum. In a frenzy of name calling, people quickly ascribed disrespect, racism, and hatred to the students. The veteran made statements about the event that were also shared virally. Some media figures and a lot of Twitter users blew up the internet, condemning the students for their interpretation of what they saw. But then, more and longer videos showing the true picture of what happened became available online, and the student at the center of the original viral video released an articulate statement…
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To Tell the Truth: Integrity and Social Media
The United States has just past through a particularly contentious news cycle. What about in your country? Are people working out problems or are they viciously debating issues and name calling? I wrote this post several years ago, but its message still seems necessary today: Are you like me? Controlling my words is an area where I have to be vigilant. Lately negative social media posts are on the upswing, and lies and exaggerations are not uncommon. The “share” button is another potential pitfall. I am convinced that words matter—whether spoken or written. Psalm 34:12-14(NET) challenges me: Do you want to really live? Would you love to live a long, happy…
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Am I Who You Think I Am?
Have you ever read any statistics on how social media is affecting our sense of identity? In a world where we can post who we want others to perceive we are, we can end up with an online-induced case of plural identities. Not only does this create confusion, it also is exhausting to maintain. My daughter, Kari Ciliberti, recently in a paper on this very subject, cited “Mary Aiken’s, an expert in cyberpsychology, comments on the feedback loop of one’s cyber self, saying, “… The cyber self is always under construction, physiologically and digitally. Even when …sleeping, the cyber self continues to exist. It is always on- evolving, updating, making…
