by Laura McCollough Moss, Facilities Quality Analyst, Heritage Ministries Management Company
I love Facebook. There; I’ve said it. Several times a day I enjoy scrolling through my news feed and learning what my friends are up to. I smile at the photos of babies, midget football players and muddy dogs, and I am often bolstered by encouraging quotations. It is amazing how informed of one another’s lives and how close we can become in this virtual world. There is one element, however, that I find disheartening, and that is the posting of negative and hurtful remarks and commentary.
The other day, a person that I know as a kind, caring individual wrote about a woman’s appearance in shorts; likening aspects of her figure to the properties of cottage cheese. Others post about the stupidity of their coworkers, or the laziness of people who receive public assistance. Frankly, this use of social media as an anonymous and confrontation-immune sounding board for communication of no meaningful value is harmful and unnecessary.
One of the powerful, positive quotes that I have seen is:
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle” – Plato
Do you think the woman with the ample thighs is unaware of them? If she is self-conscious, your comments have validated her already low esteem; and if she isn’t, is it really any concern of yours? Do you know whether she is a struggling single mother, caring for a sick parent, or working through a loss? Cruel thoughts and expressions, particularly among women toward one another, diminish us all. We are much more than the sum of our parts, be they fit or otherwise.
The next time you prepare to share something, please read it over one more time. Ask yourself the following: Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it necessary? Is it kind? If the answer to any or all of those questions is no, please click cancel. You’ll be glad you did.
