The challenge of using your voice on social media.

Do you feel it’s challenging to stand up for what you believe in? Lately, I do.  And I’m asking myself why. Why is it hard to give voice to the things that really matter to me in certain social circles? I’m thinking of the social spaces that exist beyond intimate and close friendship. The people in these social circles are mostly acquaintances or people you “know” but you aren’t really “known” by.  It could be with co-workers or neighbors or old high school and college friends. Or it’s the vast public space of social media. 

In these spaces, I find myself withholding some of my thoughts or deeper beliefs because of the uncertainty of how they will be received. I feel the tension of living in a world that doesn’t value the Way of Jesus and my heart’s desire to keep following Him. Sometimes that brings praise and accolades.  Other times, you find yourself facing criticism, rejection, and hostility. In a public space like social media, where everyone’s opinions and thoughts feel loud, my voice feels small.

A public challenge

Several months ago, I found myself frustrated by a post on social media from another Christian writer who I perceived to be finger pointing at Christians as the primary cause of the ongoing Covid pandemic.  Her post rang out with judgment of those “not caring for their neighbor”, targeting churches and church leadership as not being advocates for the least of these.  I had just come home from a long day of work at the hospital and was carrying the weight of watching Covid numbers on the rise in our pediatric patients as well as employees. (If you don’t already know, my primary work is as a physical therapist at our local children’s hospital.) 

That particular day, the number of children admitted with Covid-19 had reached its highest total: 33. With one-third of those being cared for in the PICU.  And the number of employees in quarantine had reached a high: almost 500. Twenty-two months into the pandemic and these employees were the ones who had done all they could to protect the vulnerable children we serve.  All masking day in and day out. Wearing goggles and glasses for patient care.  All vaccinated.  (our hospital mandated vaccinations in the fall of 2021) Wearing full personal protective wear when required.  All fatigued by the ongoing stressors of being in healthcare throughout the pandemic.  

As a follower of Jesus, I’ve also paid attention to how the body of Christ has responded during the pandemic.  I’ve known of groups of believers who prayed nightly in hospital parking lots. I watched leaders in churches around my city do their best to hold their congregations together through the dividing opinions that circle the pandemic.  I’ve witnessed believers rally around friends whose families were isolated and quarantined with Covid.  I’ve gathered with believers from my church community in the chapel of a hospital to pray over a member’s father as he battled Covid in the ICU.  I know church leaders who continue to facilitate small groups with those who are high-risk via zoom. 

There’s an underlying narrative of “this is how we do this the right way”  Except, on that January day, the seemingly right way wasn’t giving us the results we desired.  And I had to speak up.

This writer has a platform with thousands of followers who were applauding her but I couldn’t. 

Saying the truth.

With a racing heart and sweaty armpits, I challenged her post.  I brought to her attention that her generalizations towards Christians who were “demanding their personal rights” weren’t supported by statistics.  I cited the numbers that I had heard in my hospital that very day, the steps we had taken to protect our communities and cities and somehow, it hadn’t been enough.  The numbers were still on the rise.  And I shared how I didn’t believe finger-pointing was helping us find a way through. I pleaded for more of Jesus’ compassion among us as we navigated the ever changing, seemingly unending pandemic.

When I hit send, I threw down my phone as if it were burning my hand.  It felt hard to stand up for something so personal to me.  I feared the backlash and the rebuttals.  Standing up for my brothers and sisters in Christ is important to me.  I long for a more unified hope in Jesus above all the ways of humanity.  Amidst my anxiety and distress, I walked away from the post.  When I came back to it hours later, I found I wasn’t alone in my beliefs.  Others echoed my thoughts and liked my response in solidarity.   And surprisingly, the writer of the post responded. She apologized. The post had stung me and that wasn’t her intention.   She went back and added a disclaimer at the bottom of her original post that she didn’t believe that ALL Christians, church, or church leadership behaved this way.  

Don’t be afraid.

As I reflect on this moment, I’m reminded that even when standing up is hard, you will find you aren’t alone.  Others will stand with you. When responding to someone in love, it may even open a door for dialogue and to re-think or re-phrase what they were communicating.  And…some will argue with you.  Some will unfollow you, unfriend you or even abandon you. 

Yet, there is One who is always on your side.  I hear Him whisper, “I’m fighting with you!  I have such love for my people but it’s being drowned out by the noise.  Some have closed their ears and hearts to my words.  But others? They are open, ready to receive.  Ready to go in a different direction.  Will you be a voice that echoes mine?  When it’s safer to hide, will you stand up for me?  Will you keep paddling upstream against the voices of culture?  Do not fear. I will be with you wherever you go.”

This story isn’t about defending the right way to respond in a pandemic.  My desire isn’t to stir up something in you to take a side.  This is about a significant moment for me when courage overcame fear. Jessica Honegger has coined this phrase from her book and podcast: “Going Scared.”  I’m praying for more moments to be brave and go scared.  I’m asking the Father when I should take risks with my words and my voice.  I’m reminding myself that the deceiver wins when I buy his lies and believe I’m all alone.  Or that what I say doesn’t matter.  The Holy Spirit is the One who will nudge me to practice restraint but the deceiver is the one who strong arms me into a muzzle.

Link arms with me.

I desire to be a woman who chooses courage when faced with fear. Fear of rejection.  Fear of retaliation. Fear of not fitting in. Fear of losing friends.  My invitation is for you to link arms with me. Let’s be women who stand up for what we believe, for what we have found to be true, for Jesus, who is the foundation of our hope.  

Paul says, “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.” 1 Cor 4:1-2.

We aren’t required to have all the answers. Instead, we can embrace the mystery of God and the unexpected ways He leads us through life. We don’t serve the world and all of its expectations of us.  We serve Christ.  Let’s be faithful representatives of Him in all the spaces where our voice is heard.