I'VE NEVER UNFRIENDED ANYONE

"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17)

I truly chuckle when people think I'm a technically savvy person! I don't think I am! I did not use any computer at all until early 1993. That computer was at my church office and I began using it with many reservations. Our family got a computer at home in late 1994. I went on-line at my office in 1996 and at home in 1998. My first cell phone dates back to late 1999. Most of you know I still don't have a smart phone. I was very late coming to Facebook- I started on Facebook in December of 2010.

It took me at least a month to "get the hang" of Facebook. I added Facebook friends gradually- some people requested that I become their Facebook friend and I requested that certain people become Facebook friends with me. Something that has surprised me over the two years and three months that I have been on Facebook is that some of my Facebook friends have "unfriended" me! I was on Facebook for probably about a year before I realized you could be unfriended on Facebook! I am not sure why anybody unfriended me. There was at least one of those people that I tried to "refriend" but he did not accept my request. I have a personal friend who is also one of my Facebook friends who has unfriended a number of people and has been unfriended by a number of people. If he has an argument with someone or gets annoyed by a person's religious or political views, it's likely he will unfriend that person. Recently, that person told me, "I am thinking about having a new policy with my Facebook friends. If they post anything which includes profanity, I will remove it," (and presumably unfriend the person, as well). I must say, I thought a little bit about that one. Honestly, some of my Facebook friends post things which include pretty strong language. Some post links to sites I find quite offensive. A few occasionally post sexually suggestive writings. Some post religious or political opinions that I find troubling. I wish people would not post things which include swears, especially the "F word", and I wish people would not post sexually suggestive writings. I also get tired of angry and sarcastic political posts from both the right and the left. I could "go wild" and start deleting all sorts of posts from my Facebook friends and I suppose even unfriend about a quarter of my Facebook friends. I got to thinking about this today because a friend of mine who has very liberal political views posted a very left wing link that I became annoyed by.

Then, I thought about the flip side of what I'm writing about here. I post a fair number of links and thoughts, myself. I want my Facebook friends, if they respect me as a person, to read and consider what I'm posting, even if they find what I post offensive to their political or religious views. I think society is healthier when we are all free to bring matters that are important to us "to the table" and honestly think about and dialogue about them. This is what happened in ancient Athens, and Acts chapter seventeen tells us that the Apostle Paul went to Mars Hill to share and discuss Christianity in this fashion with the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. Somehow I think Paul would have had a Facebook page, and I suspect he would not have been quick to unfriend people or reject people.

To the best of my knowledge, I have never unfriended anyone on Facebook and I have never removed any other person's post. I do ask my Facebook friends to think about some of what you post; especially the "F word"; and to think about whether what you're posting is edifying or destructive. I also hope you will at least "take a serious look at" what I post and that you won't unfriend me!