There is another trend right now using the #Hashtag that I want to warn my friends and family of. This trend has been applied to court rulings, political parties, current events, even teen movie love interests and it is a fad with the power to separate families, colleagues, friends, and neighbors. How? By using this beloved #hashtag to draw a line in the sand. Are you #TeamPeta? #TeamJacob? Are you a #HillaryHater? Do you think that #SomeLivesMatter? Well friends... be careful.
I've heard it said that, "If you stand for nothing, you fall for anything." That's funny, because I don't see a whole lot of strength coming from taking a stand behind your #Hashtag. No, sadly, this line-in-the-sand-are-you-with-me-or-against-me mentality is doing quite the opposite. So here is my prayerful plea - Think before you #Hashtag, think before you draw that line in the sand. Think and pray before you pick a side and wave that banner proudly.
See, it's been brought to my attention through God's Word that the Enemy never succeeded by encouraging unity. From the beginning of time the slithery being of evil crept into garden, the hearts, and the minds of God's people with the intent to divide. We see it again in kingdoms and countries all throughout our history. And today, via the #hashtag, we use our right to free speech to declare a side, a team, and a mindset that we can't take back.
For a country of strong, self-reliant, open-minded people - we sure are gullible in falling in to the REAL trap that's been set: If we are not united, we will fall. Let me say that again for it to really sink in - IF WE ARE NOT UNITED... WE WILL FALL. That, ladies and gents, should terrify you.
I read an article, that quizzed foreigners - it asked them what surprised them the most when they visited the USA and one stuck out to me. The answers were meant (I think) to be funny, but this one was eye-opening. I don't remember the exact phrase, but it was along the lines of being surprised that a country claiming to be the United States of America had such patriotism toward their STATE more than America.
*blinks*
Guys... I'm from TEXAS. It's been drilled into me from infancy, when I received my first pair of cherry red cowboy boots, to be a proud, friendly, polite TEXAN. When I visit other countries, I say I'm from TEXAS! I secretly judge other people when they move out of state (how could anyone born in Texas voluntarily leave? We have it all, you want trees, go to Tyler; You want desert, go to El Paso; You want snow in the Winter, go to Amarillo; You want a beach, go to Corpus Christi!) Holy cow - it's true, and I'm admittedly guilty of it!
How very, very sad. Isn't it?
So when I say for strong people, we're gullible - I'm including myself in this. I am proud to be an AMERICAN - yes a Texan, but I don't want to fall for this scheme anymore!
There is no doubt that the Enemy has found his stronghold - it is division - and it's working. It's been as subtle as provincial preference and as blatant as gender allowances, racial/profession profiling, or sexual orientation! But we're blind to it, in fact we're standing up for it, and using the trusty #hashtag to show where our allegiances lie. Be careful friends.
So in a country that, especially today, is choosing a side, #hashtagging away, and filling our lives with division, my prayer is that you will think and pray before you do the same. Yes, it's okay to be sad and angry and hurt for the injustice in our nation, but it's not okay to divide, it's not okay to hate, it's not okay to place judgement on masses because of the sins of few. Think. Pray. Unite. We must friends, we simply have to.
"Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering." 1 Peter 5:8-9
No comments:
Post a Comment