This Post Won’t Go Viral Because That Would Mean You’d Have To Do Something About Your Faith
I put my heart on the line every day as I write about the Islamic State torture, crucifixions, beheadings, shootings and child abuse.
I hold back the tears as I type out the words, pull horrific quotes and sort through photos to use with my articles to protect the innocent but draw attention to the violence.
But readers don’t care. Sometimes, even my co-workers don’t care. I’ve spent nearly a year working at what I consider my dream job, writing stories that I think matter, hoping to raise awareness about the tragedy of what’s happening to my brothers and sisters, only to realize people would rather talk about Paula White’s Halloween costume.
How do I know? My post about her Instagram photo garnered a whopping 28,000 shares and calls and comments from co-workers about my gifts.
A week earlier, my story about “Christians” maliciously abusing child “witches” netted 546 shares. I’m not a math person, but my calculator tells me White dressed as Little Red Riding Hood was over 5,000 percent more successful for site traffic.
This is horrifying.
We would rather gossip about a controversial evangelist than put our money where our faith should be and try to stop the evils of this world. More recently, our breaking news story about the heart-aching violence against Paris received just over 700 shares, which means White got 4,000 percent more shares.
My soul aches for the men and women involved, and yet some outrage creeps in. Outrage because believers care about Western attacks, but not the violence facing our brothers and sisters who endure persecution every day. Internationally, refugees are fleeing the very men who attacked Paris, but some are blaming the refugees for ushering in the violence.
Social media-wise, few of us cared about the suicide bomber in Turkey who took out 90 last month. What about the 43 killed in Beirut the day before Paris? But when the city of love is attacked, we draw a line?
Just imagine how our world could change if we would breach our comfort zone and stand up to evil.
Though I’m throwing accusations, I am just as guilty of wanting to clear my mind of what burdens my heart and watch a fluffy Hallmark movie to avoid reality. I share funny Facebook memes before I share stories about Coptic Christians forgiving the men who slaughtered their husbands, fathers and brothers.
As believers, we are called to be set apart (Deut. 14:2, Heb. 10:10-12), but we buy into what culture propagates as entertainment because it seems easier than letting our hearts do the talking.
How often do we as Christians let the Holy Spirit guide our social media habits? How many people spent even 30 seconds praying before firing off some comment about Starbucks red cups (I’ll raise my hand, as I opened my mouth before I considered what God would want from me).
While your feed may have been filled with complaints about the complaints about Starbucks, comedian Bill Dixon tweeted, “If you’re mad about Starbucks coffee cups, wait until you hear about sex trafficking!”
I’m pretty sure he isn’t a believer, but his comment highlights an unfortunate truth in the Christian community: We get up in arms about situations that don’t actually impact the Kingdom.
We complain about persecution but we largely ignore the devastation happening across the world. If we did, Real Housewives of Orange County‘s Vicki Gunderson’s boyfriend’s cancer scandal wouldn’t be the one of the top stories of today.
Thanksgiving’s coming up. So I have a challenge for us: Take the next week and share a post about something that’s happening in the Christian community outside the United States and think of reasons why they might be grateful. Share it on your platforms and use your social media standing to make a difference.
Help us rebrand Christianity to be something Jesus would be proud of—as in something that would look like the Acts 2 church and not a quick hit for Internet traffic.
