You know the type- a jerk who interrupts your anecdote which everyone is enjoying just to correct you on some tiny fact of the case that really doesn't matter?
The one who 'Snopes' everything they get in email that professes to be a true story-- no matter how touching, or how important the lesson?
Well that's me.
It's not something I'm proud of. Today more than ever I see how wrong and potentially destructive this tendency can be.
I have finally realized that a "true story" which may be partially inaccurate, or even entirely made up, can have a very real and very positive impact on the listeners. When someone takes pains to make sure everyone knows it's untrue or that some of it has been changed, it takes focus off the important part-- the lesson! Even worse, it can embitter someone who was touched by the story and irritated by the debunker. This is what is known in Christianity as a stumbling-block. When we cast something in front of another believer which halts or lessens their faith; when we, through our words or actions, cause negative feelings in another- this is to place our own soul in peril.
Jesus told these kind of stories in his day too. They are called parables. He understood that a truth which people would not hear point blank could sneak up on them and sink in by way of a common story they could relate to. If their heart was open to the truth, they didn't need understanding of spiritual matters. This is why it's dangerous to open my mouth about these parables I get in email all the time. If the only way to deliver a life-saving pill to someone is in a piece of cheese and I run over and shred up the cheese, I am now responsible for the lives of those who did not receive it.
If you're seeking or hurting, and want someone to talk to, pray with, ask questions.. please contact me. Or talk to someone- seek out the truth, don't just let "good enough" be your daily existence. There is more.
Posts
2 comments:
I am a snopes addict, too. Sometimes the details do not really matter, though, like you said. What's that old saying about the "the details?" ;-)
the only one I know is "it's all in the details" but that would be kinda counterproductive to this topic. LOL