If there is one thing we are really good at, it’s pointing out the faults in others. When we make a mistake, we are really good at hiding it, but when someone else makes a mistake, we point the spotlight on them. Social media has also definitely exacerbated the problem.
My current Facebook feed is filled with memes of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. I’m glad I’m not famous, because I would have a lot of memes of myself doing stupid things as well. Sure it was wrong of Smith to go up on stage and slap someone, but why do we have to keep rubbing his nose in it by continuing to call attention to it? While I admit some of the memes are funny, we need to make sure we aren’t demeaning his character. Smith did send out an apology and if we say we are Christians, we need to forgive him.
Will Smith isn’t the only victim of the internet. Many celebrities have been publicly shamed online for something they did wrong. Many people were cancelled or ostracized. It’s sad to hear stories of celebrities who accidentally or purposefully killed themselves because of a drug overdose. When the world is laughing at someone and looking down on them, it is easy to see how that person may become depressed and try to find other ways to become happy again.
Michael Jackson had many jokes thrown his way because of his strange behavior and the way he looked. He ended up losing his life due to a drug overdose, but I wonder if his ending would have been the same if people weren’t so harsh on him. Many kids today struggle with identity issues and when they are bullied, some of them decide death is the better solution. Negative words can feel like stones being thrown. While they don’t cause physical damage initially, they cause emotional harm that can lead to physical harm.
In the Gospel this weekend, the people presented Jesus with a woman caught in the act of adultery. According to the custom at the time, stoning was the appropriate punishment. Despite the fact that it was justified to stone the woman, Jesus taught a message of forgiveness and said that whoever is without sin should cast the first stone. Everyone walked away without condemning the woman. It’s interesting that Jesus was the one person without sin who was justified to condemn her and yet He didn’t.
If Jesus, who is sinless, can forgive someone, we who aren’t sinless should be able to forgive each other as well. We need to let things go and focus on helping someone up when they fall instead of holding them down. Just imagine a world without bullying or belittling. Imagine a world where people lifted each other up and motivated one another. The gossip magazines would be out of business, but we would all be happier and closer to Heaven.
