So…I wrote a book about Posting Peace. I really want my words to help facilitate better conversations and redemptive conflicts. However, I also don’t want to be hurt. I want to write and speak truth about our need to engage in the ministry of reconciliation, but I don’t want people to be angry with me. I want to change the world, but I don’t want to interact with the people who will reject my advocacy for change. I’m a conflicted man.
This is the point where people advocate that I grow thicker skin. This is where I respond to their advocacy with the lament that I have never been able to control the thickness of my skin. You see, I have the heart God gave me and it is easily wounded. I know that my feelings are not reality, that truth doesn’t vacillate with my emotional whims. Even so, I experience hurt when I am rejected, scorned, ridiculed and verbally attacked for my convictions. I did not make myself this way. The vessel that writes these words has not yet figured out how to protect his heart.
This is the point where people try to give helpful suggestions on how I can grow in protecting my heart. These suggestions run the spectrum from tricks of the mind to heavy medication. Although I am not innately hostile to any of these suggestions, I sometimes wish people would spend less time trying to fix the vulnerable and more time just letting them be externally vulnerable. One of the greatest torments of emotional vulnerability is feeling one cannot share his or her feelings without being further injured.
So, why am I writing this post? Honestly, I’m not really sure. I just want you to know that I’ve written something I’m proud of, something that I think can transform the way we communicate online, something that will lead to me experiencing hurt. So pray for me and I’ll pray for you. And please, no matter how you have been made, we need you to share your story with the rest of us. You have words we need to read and hear. Yes, people will reject your words and even reject you. Yes, it will even hurt sometimes. Regardless, know that you are not alone. You are surrounded by many beautiful people who share the love of Christ while mending their own wounds. You will grow in the character of Christ as you share in the fellowship of Christ’s suffering.
Much love to you. Now if you don’t mind….would a couple of you purchase my book: Posting Peace: Why Social Media Divides Us and What We Can Do About It.
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