Social Media Fighting

What I do for the several organizations that I minion for is online social media.  One of the unfortunate side effects of this fact is that no matter how much I wish I could walk away from social media...I can't.

I stay out of most of the hot button issues like politics and whatever is making people upset like starbucks cups because I know people on both sides of the issue.  Anything I said would most likely offend someone and I believe the Bible is very clear on avoiding offense if it can be helped.  Plus, for the most part, it doesn't matter.  Who cares what Starbucks puts on their cups or doesn't.  For everything else I follow Rom 12:18 and Matt 7:1.

This week has been harder for me to stay silent.  The mass shooting in Orlando has once again drawn out the voices of people who what to talk about guns, terrorism and anti-LGBT sentiment.  While I have opinions on those things, that is not what strains my desire to keep silent.

Since I have friends in the LGBT community and the Christian community I am seeing posts ... well to be honest I'm a little appalled and great saddened.

• My liberal (general category for brevity's sake not for labeling) friends are talking about the fake Christian sentiment of sympathy in contrast with the hate-mongering they interpret the Christian lives showing in reality.  

• My Christian friends are talking about politics and terrorism.  Some of them expressed sympathy for Orlando.

Again, this is a generalization but still a large representative of what I'm seeing from my limited perspective online.  I find it disturbing in the extreme.   I could go into a lengthy discourse on how I feel about a great many of the issues represented in that dichotomy but there are only two that I feel compelled to address.  

People are people.  Don't murder people.

I am grieved to the core that so many people were murdered and injured.  It's not okay and it's not right.  I could care less who did it or why, apart from making sure they can't do it again.  Why in the world has the conversation become the two above points and not the heart wrenching, soul response to such a large loss of life?  Why have we, the Christian community, let our testimony become so tainted that people can't even believe we would be sympathetic?   I am so sorry.  I'm sorry so many people are suffering.  I'm sorry.  I know people are angry and upset.  It's upsetting that so many people were killed and injured.  I know every individual is expressing that feeling in the way that is important to them.  I just pray that everyone else remembers that before they react.