Proverbs for Christian Blogging: Avoiding the Temptation to Crush Heads

Enjoy this video:

 

This video proves that if you distance yourself just far enough from people and change your perspective just enough you can make yourself a giant and other people but tiny ants. 

I wish this poor chap was alone in his delusion.  But I fear we bloggers may give him a good bit of company.  It is no accident that bloggers have gotten a bad rap as those that don housecoats and live in their mothers basement and spend all their days straining gnats and swallowing camels.  Every blogger can be tempted to use lofty and dicing words to sit atop our throne and crush the heads of all those that aren't within close proximity of our theological camps.

It is to expected that the very tools of the trade—namely, words—can be used to either exalt Christ and build up other or to tear down and belittle.  Spend anytime in the world of blogs and especially comments and you will see numerous examples of belittling.  Spend a little time on a sports blog or political blog and you will see several “I’m crushing your head” type of statements. 

Yet Christian blogging must rise above this level.  After all Proverbs 11:12 reminds us that, "Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent."  Faithful bloggers will avoid "Crushing Your Head".  Faithful bloggers will view themselves accurately and those with whom they differ with respect and courtesy.  Faithful bloggers don't belittle.

What Must Be Present for Belittling to Occur

There are a couple of things that had to be present in order for the head crusher in the above video to accomplish his goal of belittling every passerby.  Those that desire to belittle will want to take note. 

First, you have to keep your distance from your opponent.  It's much harder to belittle someone that you have supper with.  Of course you still can belittle those that are close to you, but it is more difficult to do so without feeling the effects.  You can't squish your next door neighbor like a bug without getting your hands filthy with bug guts.  So if you want to be good at belittling others then by all means keep yourself a safe distance from those you wish to crush.

Secondly, in order to belittle someone you have to think of yourself as a giant and your opponent as an ant.  This directly rejects the admonition of Philippians 2:3 to "in humility count others more significant than yourselves."  When we belittle another person we are making them smaller than they actually are (often denying the work and image of God within them).  We also have to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to.  Both of these come from an inadequate view of God, as well as self.

Faithful blogging comes from acknowledging that the people we interact with are actually living, breathing, yard-mowing, teeth-brushing, water-drinking people just like ourselves.  They are no better than people.  But they are certainly not less. 

Faithful bloggers rub shoulders with their opponents and make every attempt to view them from up close and not hiding behind a bush so that they can fool themselves into thinking they are giants and their opponent and ant.  The only head-crushing that needs to go on in the Christian blogsophere is when believers stand behind Christ as he overturns the works of the devil and crushes the head of the serpent.  But he doesn’t do that as a delusional goon from behind a bush.  He gets close.  He looks death in the face.  And he crushes it for real.  Let’s follow suit.