Sunday, August 24, 2014

Addressing our #Hashtag Culture


We find ourselves in a current culture where social media gives us the play by play of nearly every viral, news worthy moment. Whether it be an earthquake, a celebrity death, a social justice issue, or anything “trending”, we typically see it first through social media, not by reading about it in a paper or seeing it on local news. 

While I am grateful for the advancements in technology, social media and the vast reach it has and use much of it in my day to day, I am also aware of the shallowness it promotes. 

It used to be people were dedicated & called to a particular issue where they studied, engaged & took full advantage of every resource to address. Now with social media everyone seems to be an expert on everything. The problem is we don’t really know that much, haven’t studied & read enough from the right sources, and instead of offering real solutions and empathy to situations, we tweet some memorable maxim or offer a picture that we feel sums it up. 

It is no wonder there is little credibility at the outcries of injustice when a media moment popularizes a particular issue and everyone then jumps on board. It is so easy to “second a motion” or jump on the latest thing trending, capitalizing on emotions and energy, but will we become a people who give our whole lives for a particular cause? Will we read and discuss with others who carry different view points in a God honoring, humble way to learn and really become familiar with the bigger picture or we will settle for the #hashtags? 

It is so easy to jump aboard a cause when it doesn’t involve sacrifice or a real time commitment of energy and resources. Anybody can tweet or #hashtag anything. It is so easy when it is culturally cool or the thing of the moment, but the real grunt work is in the day to day behind the scenes perseverance over years and years to see real change. 

I am reminded of William Wilberforce whose entire life was encompassed by his passion for the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade. he worked tirelessly, endured scrutiny and went against the grain of his own culture. He gave 43 years to a cause and never waivered no matter how hard it got. He was disciplined, learned and had credibility to address the major issues of his day because his life reflected his outcry. 

What about us? Will we continue to fall victim to the latest #hashtag and champion only that which is cool and current or will we go against the grain and call sin, sin, no matter the backlash and scrutiny? Will we endure hardship and persecution because we champion a cause through trials and triumphs or will we succumb to the newest flash in the pan, jumping from cause to cause but never developing a biblical framework to properly address anything thoughtfully, truthfully yet lovingly? 

I find myself in rebellion to anything trending. It’s not that I don’t care about some of these issues, many are near and dear to my heart. But I long for a consistent witness of faithfulness over time, informed and directed toward a specific cause through a balanced understanding on the real issues at hand. I can’t speak on Obamacare, I never read it...I can’t address Ferguson in great detail, I wasn’t there...I can’t do your icebucket challenge, there are many worthy causes my heart is drawn toward that are personally more important to me & my resources. 

So while we keep chasing the trending #hashtag in a shallow misinformed way, we will never see change happen until we put our hands to the plough in the areas God has called us to in a longterm commitment whether they be popular or not. 

Don’t #hashtag it, dedicate your life to it!