I’ve mentioned before that I’m not much of a fan of social media. I don’t even like the term. I really only pay attention to two platforms. LinkedIn lets me keep up with technology, former coworkers, and occasionally it sends a few readers to my blog. Instagram is mostly for funny videos that make me laugh.
I rarely post on either one because, more often than not, it feels like talking to a wall.
This past week I broke one of my own rules.
Someone posted an image of Jesus preaching to sheep on a mountainside with a caption suggesting that people are “sheep” for believing lies. It was meant to be funny, but it wasn’t historically accurate. I couldn’t resist replying.
My response wasn’t confrontational. I simply pointed out that, historically speaking, the image didn’t make much sense. Jesus wasn’t preaching to Christians because Christians didn’t exist during his lifetime. Jesus was born Jewish, lived as a Jew, taught as a Jew, and died a Jew. His followers were Jewish as well. Christianity didn’t emerge as a distinct religion until decades after his death, gradually separating from Judaism over the course of the first century.
The discussion went back and forth five or six times, and eventually it became obvious that history wasn’t really the point. The goal wasn’t to understand the historical context. The goal was simply to reinforce the original opinion.
That was my mistake.
I’ve spent enough years on the internet to know that very few people change their minds because of a comment thread. Facts rarely matter once someone has decided they aren’t interested in hearing them.
The only worthwhile thing that came out of the exchange was realizing it deserved a longer conversation than a comment thread could ever provide. That conversation will be next week’s post.
So here’s my lesson for today, one I already knew but apparently needed to relearn. Social media is at its best when it connects people, shares ideas, or simply entertains us. When it turns into endless arguments over people who have no interest in learning, it’s usually better to walk away.
Sometimes the smartest comment you can make is the one you never type.
Thanks for reading BeingKevin.
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