Dealing With People Who Only Seek to Drag You Down
photo credit: JerrytheSaint
The internet is one thing that I like a lot, mainly because I use it not only to work and earn a living, but to communicate with people I care deeply for. It’s a great tool when used in the right way and for the right reasons. But it can also be one of the most hurtful tools in today’s world.
As much as I like the internet, one of the things I dislike most about it is the way some people use it to hide behind a monitor and keyboard and treat others horribly bad. Most notable are AOL’s “Christian” chat rooms. Although there are Christian people that go into these chats, the behavior some often put forth (on a daily basis over a period of years) is too often anything but Christian.
No one is expected to be sweet and thoughtful and full of compassion 24/7, but neither is it expected for those that call themselves Christian to continually treat other humans with disdain. To laugh and make fun of their pain and judge them for their past (a past that in most cases God has forgiven them for)…it’s all just wrong and there’s nothing Christian in that type of behavior.
One of the hurtful things in a person’s life is when they are going through or have went through such a horrible time and just need someone to listen to them, to understand, to accept them for who they are.
And so they venture into what seems an innocent chat room because the title on the room says something about “Christian”. They start to talk and open up somewhat about themselves, perhaps sharing embarrassing or humiliating secrets that even their own families don’t know. Often the person has been forgiven by God already.
Yet as they share their past, all too often there will be some “Christians” who not only begin to judge them for their forgiven past or how they are living now, but slamming them and telling them what a horrible person they are.
It leaves me wondering just where Christ is in their “Christian” walk. He doesn’t show in their treatment and behavior when they judge and slam. So who are they really glorifying in their horrible treatment of a hurting person? It surely isn’t God.
So why do people do this to each other? More so, why do some Christians treat each other this way? Why do some Christians treat a hurting person so horrible? Why do some Christians treat anyone so terribly? What makes these people think they have the right to judge a person and their past, forgiven or not forgiven? Are they without sin to judge another? Has God given them the right to slam others or to run them down? No, He hasn’t and won’t.
It’s my belief that people who exhibit this type of behavior are often doing so because they are often living miserably and they want someone (anyone) to feel as miserable as they still do. Pride usually prevents them from just letting go of whatever is causing them to still feel so bad, and to keep from feeling so bad alone they want to drag someone down with them. So when a person comes along who shares their not so great past, they zone in on them and do everything in their power to push them down.
The person who originally came along seeking someone to share with and someone to listen to them surely needs our prayers. But just as much, if not more so, the ones that judge and get their pleasure from another’s pain need our prayers.
Posted on March 3rd, 2008 by Blake and filed under In My Opinion | 7 Comments »