A Much Needed Change

I want to step back from my normal talk of theology and religion and just speak as a person for a little while. Here we go.

The internet is a fascinating place. I mean, the world is a fascinating place, but the internet is even more fascinating as a somewhat blown-up image of all of the craziness you might encounter not on the internet. It is on the internet that you can find an argument for any point of view--literally, any of them. It is on the internet that you can see memes, read articles, and listen to youtube videos stating completely opposite opinions as if they are fact, all in a matter of seconds.

On the internet, it is really easy to post an opinion and not have any responsibility for what you said. A blog is a scary thing (I know it's ironic for me to say that in a blog, but I'm going to anyways). On a blog, someone can post an opinion, touting themselves as an expert in just about anything. Most of the time, this is a really bad thing, and I try to avoid these articles because I leave frustrated with people's inability to think (maybe that's harsh? Oh well).

Then, on a blogging and sports supersite that I really enjoy called Grantland, I found an article with an opinion I thought was good. The article is called Man Up [NOTE: the language is really bad. Let me explain why I like it, first, before you go there, and you can decide if you want to read it].

I like the article because, although it's vulgar, it's on point; if you're familiar with this bullying/abuse case in the NFL right now, you'll find it interesting. If you're not familiar, it is a blown up case about one grown man treating another grown man like garbage and people accepting it because they're football players who should be able to handle it. If this amount of foul language is ever acceptable (note I said if), this has to be the case: he's really really mad, and pretty justifiably so. Read if you feel so inclined, but know he's intense.

And now to my point. I read that Grantland article above, and I loved it. I loved it because I thought it got to the heart of this whole issue--this is a person who needs to be treated as such. I read this article and thought: wow, that was a good point. I really liked that. I wish he didn't use the F word so much and I could share that article with everyone I know. Then I read the comments; seeing that there were so many, I figured I would read a couple of people who disagreed (this is the internet, after all), and a whole bunch of people saying how wonderful the article was. To my utter surprise, what I read most of all were people saying he was wrong, saying that this was a grown man playing a professional sport and he needed to figure out his things on his own, that he was hurt too easily and he needed to get over it.

And now to my real point: I think there is a problem when we think of people as problems we need to solve rather than individuals who need to be encountered and loved. The commenters on this article saw Jonathan Martin not as a man, but as a football who makes lots of money and needs to be tough and deal with his issues, regardless of what they are. In my line of work, I see the same thing; people see ministry, often, as something which should be done in a specific category and a specific way because that is the way that is effective and that is what people in our world need.

On blogs, you see this sort of thing all the time (and I may be guilty of myself): here is a problem, and here is how we need to solve it. Sure, the problem is on the other side of the world. Sure, I don't really know anyone affected by this. Sure, I haven't ever spoken with someone in this situation. All of that aside, us bloggers often say, here is the solution. Implement my plans. They work. I promise.

Maybe this will come off as doing exactly what I just said we shouldn't, but here is what I think: we, as human persons, need to start seeing others as people, not as problems to be solved (note, when I say we, I really mean I). Encounter people. Love people. Listen to people. Professional athletes, teachers, famous musicians, plumbers, waitresses, actors, and everyone in between--they're all just people.

No, actually, I take the "we" back all together. Here is my solution: I will stop seeing people as a category and a problem, and start encountering them all as people who deserve love, attention, and respect. No more categories. Just more love.

Basically, I want to start being like this guy: The Embrace that Went Viral.