4th Week of Senior Year: Saving Face

I'm writing this post from my iPod, so forgive me if there are any typos/weird autocorrections.

Last week, I got into an argument with someone on Facebook. Without divulging into details, I will just say that I learned something I should have learned three years ago.


People like spectacle. They like to see blood, gore, nudity, violence, and whatever other atrocities we're capable of. This is the same with Facebook--people like to see a good argument play out. They grab their popcorn and refresh the feed as they watch 2 people argue back and forth. Eventually, they take a side and they continue watching to see if the contender they're rooting for will win. These spectators are even more thrilled when a third party joins in. It's the greatest show on earth, watching people push words back and forth from behind their computer screens.

I wasn't too conscious of these spectators in the past. I just wanted to get my point across so I would keep going. I didn't care who saw--for all I knew, nobody was watching. After this last incident, though, I realized that I have to stop--not because I'm backing down, but because I'm saving face.

I deleted the argumentative comments from this status, but I knew it was too late. I wondered how many people watched. I'm not a confrontational person in person, but once I'm online, I have no filter. As a Christian, I need to get some boundaries. Arguing with people who do not share my beliefs will be pointless 99% of the time. It does not change their minds, let alone their hearts. All it does is make me look like a nut. The best thing I can do is just pray. Leave them with God. At the end of the day, nobody is better than anyone else, so if I win the argument, so what? All it does is perhaps boost my pride, and pride is a sin. I'm not some great apologist.

I don't regret my status, and I still stand by what I wrote. However, I think this is a good time for me to shut up and live the love of God. Show, don't tell.

The day after this happened, I wore less makeup, less jewelry, and I avoided people's gaze as I walked around campus. I was going for the sackcloth-and-ashes approach, even though I didn't really do anything wrong. When I passed by people I knew, I felt paranoid. Did they read what I wrote? Do they hate me? When people say hello to me, do they really mean "Hello, I know what you wrote last night"?

Inevitably, to be a Christian is to be hated. Jesus tells us in John 15:18 that if the world hates us, we should remember that it hated Him first. (Read the whole chapter for context.) So yes, I'm going to have persecution and contention and people are going to dislike me. However, Jesus also tells us in Luke 6:26 to beware when all men speak well of you. If you don't have haters, you're doing it wrong.

At least I live in the United States. Heh.

Going back to how this relates to college, I'm going to try to avoid arguments from now on. Let's see how long this lasts.

Thank you for reading, and have a supercalafragilisticexpialadocious week :)