Does Forgiving Them Mean I Have To Be Their Facebook Friend?

Jesus told Peter to forgive his brother 490 times a day, but never said anything about Peter needing to make his brother his Facebook friend. Riiiggghhhhhht?

Ha.

That’s like mommy telling Johnny not to eat the chocolate chip cookies because it will spoil his dinner so Johnny eats a tub of ice cream instead. After all, she never said a word about the ice cream.

Explaining the Biblical principle of forgiveness as it applies to modern-day social media issues sounds simple enough. Riiiggghhht?

Then why am I having such a hard time accepting Suzy Slammer and Nosey Rosey’s friend’s request?

I have literally allowed them to linger in Facebook’s waiting room for months. You know the scenario. You don’t want to decline their Friend Request and hurt their feelings – but neither do you want to grant them access to your sacred cyber world.

And so I shout at them inside my head:

These are my friends. And this is my world. And you have hurt me too many times.So there! I am absolutely going to leave you standing on my cyber doorstep and I am going to keep on pretending that I don’t hear you.

And yet I would never consider being this rude in person. No, I would smile politely, and do my best to be embrace them and show them the love of Christ.

WWJD – Accept or Decline Facebook Friend Request?

Can’t you just hear me whining to Jesus, “But Lord, Suzy Slammer has put me down so many times… I just don’t want to be hurt anymore. And well, Nosey Rosey sticks her nose into everyone’s business – and I mean everyone’s! And the comments she leaves in my news feed are so embarrassing.”

But before Christ can utter a response, I know the answer. He already recorded them in the Holy Bible for all to see.

“Bless those who persecute you. Do good to those who despitefully use you… give them your coat and cloak also…turn the other cheek… show them love – after all that’s how they will know that you are one of my disciples.”

Ouch….

Of course I know Christ is right – He is always right. But that doesn’t mean I am going to click right over to my pending Friend’s Request list and accept Suzy Slammer and Nosey Rosey. I wish I could do that – really I do. But I know that I am not broken enough yet to allow the depth of forgiveness that is necessary for my relationship with them to be repaired.

But it is something I am working on, and something that I hope to be able to tell you that I have resolved very soon.

What about you? What areas of social media present a challenge for you? Do you have anyone lingering in your Friend Request box?

Tech Tip: Here is a link to Business Insider explaining how to see who might be ignoring your Friend’s Request.