I’m feeling the need to rant just for a minute. Maybe this is even a rant I’ve shared here before—I’ve certainly shared it a few times IRL, and on Facebook—so apologies if this seems like a rerun.
Anyway, as I frequently do, I was simply scrolling through my Facebook feed, trying to see if anything new was going on with my friends. Now, first, let me be honest: while I am most interested in the actual life stuff of the close family and friends that populate my friend list, I am certainly not above being entertained by random personality quizzes, uplifting videos, or even lolcats. I figure that sort of mindless entertainment is a large part of what social media is for. But, it’s a place where people share all sorts of things, and, as you might expect, I don’t care for all of it.
And what has caused my rant today? Nothing out of the ordinary, unfortunately.
This is what I saw today during my mindless strolling. Essentially, it’s an old-fashioned chain letter, modernized to Facebook, promising good will come for those joining in, and threatening something horrible for those who choose not to participate.
I have to say that all versions of these sorts of things rub me the wrong way, but certainly those pertaining to prayer/faith/God. First, there is the issue that I’m a fairly private person about my faith; you won’t see me posting scriptures or trying to save the wicked in my Facebook posts. I have plenty of friends who do that sort of thing, and that’s fine by me, though I’ll admit I scroll on past an awful lot of the “preaching”. But second, and more important, my bigger concern is that I simply can’t buy in to a God that is so angry and shallow that if someone doesn’t recite a prayer and share a picture, he’s going to rain down some sort of retribution upon them. I don’t—can’t—believe in in that.
So, if these are the kinds of things you are sharing with your friends, please don’t interpret my “ignore” as the behavior of some sort of Godless heathen; really it’s just the opposite. It’s just that I’m saving my prayers for a time and place having nothing to do with the number of likes.
Thanks for listening to the rant.
