Friday, January 8, 2010

TMI

Last night I got to thinking and it was Facebook of all things that got me thinking.

Hmm, maybe I should read more.

Anyway.

We'll begin with a disclaimer of sorts.

Most of you that stop in for a visit know me in person or at least did at some point and so you have a feel for my personality. I do have a sense of humor. I can be quite sassy. I am not good with boundaries. I have almost no mouth filter, meaning when I think it, it comes tumbling out of my mouth. I will talk about pretty much anything with most people. I am not a prude by any stretch.

But...

In trying hard, really hard to live my life through the filter of being a Christian, I had a major pause last night.

Now, I know it was all in fun and games but...

So the game was to write in your status a color word that described a certain undergarment being worn. Then there were friends who let us know they were not wearing said undergarment at that moment. Some even went on to share the opinions why it was okay not to be wearing that item.

Again, disclaimers. I'm all for the fancy, frilly, colorful and fun. I'll admit to shopping at some of the special shops for said unders. And I'll agree there are plenty of times when it's just not worth the effort, the need isn't there and well, it's just nice to be, well, um...relaxed?

But, posting it in your Facebook status is going over the line. This is my opinion alone, don't take offense, but do take a second to get to my reasoning. Please.

So a lot of us run around being Christian or at least making strides at it. Some others of us aren't there yet or aren't planning to go there, but still have morals and values and generally want to be kind and good to our fellow man.

Follow along with me here for just a minute.

First. I don't know about you, but my Facebook friends are a mixed bunch. Some are people I knew in real life going back 30+ years, but haven't seen in person in decades. Some are people I know casually, like "friends" that coach or teach my kids. Some are from church and include pastors, their wives or kids in my youth group Bible study. Then there are some that are spouses of friends. Some are my relatives. Some are my see you everyday in real life friends.

I don't necessarily want all these people to know my undie styles. That doesn't mean I wouldn't go there in a personal conversation, but it's a way different game face to face than flying across cyberland.

Next. When we do something like this, we're really only thinking about ourselves.

Huh?

Well, it goes like this in my mind. You can't know how what you've just written in your status will effect another person. In that huge mixed group of friends on your list, you can't know everything about everyone's hearts. You don't know which of these friends struggles with gossip and now your brief about your bra is a burning itch in the mind of a gossip. You don't know who struggles with lust. You may have just caused a great struggle in a relationship or a persons personal life by bragging on your style. You may have struck hard at someone's insecurities. Now she's read about what everyone else has and she's feeling left out of the party.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

I'm just thinking we need to do a little more of what we are all telling our kids to do. Be careful about the information you share. Be modest. Yeah, you didn't put up your address, credit card number or social security identity, but you were revealing. You weren't posting nude photos or sexting, but was it something you'd want to read in your daughter's status or your mother's status?

Okay, I'm done now.

Back to your regularly scheduled fun.

1 comment:

stephseef said...

i felt the exact same way and people thought i was out to lunch.

glad i wasn't alone.

:)

i've deactivated my FB since then. it doesn't help me live the way i should live.. maybe someday. but not now. happy day!