I learned something a few weeks ago as I watched a YouTube video meant for entertainment and not necessarily education. Where I learned this bit of new knowledge is ironic. YouTube is a prime example of the spread of a plague that is spreading across Social Media.
Did you know that a group of ravens is called an Unkindness? The name is quite apt, considering the bird. Ravens are clamouring opportunists that go after the weak and the young, tearing and pecking at their helpless victims. Ravens also have no qualms about digging up the dead to feast upon carcasses.
Millions flock to Social Media every day to criticize posts. If there isn’t any fresh fodder to feast upon, a person’s past is dug up from the grave. Many Social Media users are rapidly becoming the modern-day equivalent of ancient Roman coliseum spectators. They have become a flock of Unkindness.
Who are you hanging around with these days? Who are you following on Social Media? And why are you following them if you disagree with their lifestyle, theology, or clothing style? As you scroll down your favourite site’s feeds, do you become more and more critical and judgmental? Are you disguising your scathing critiques as sarcastic humour or, worse yet, labelling them as discernment? Do you carry that so-called discernment to others by calling out the weakness of an individual so you can swoop down to tear your victims apart? Can you find a way out of the negativity spiral?
Social Media has a viral plague of Unkindness. Are you a carrier of the disease?
If so, I encourage you to leave your fellow members of “Unkindness” and return to Kindness. Find a flock and stay with them. They are out there, they might not be following Social Media celebrities with millions of ‘unkind followers’, but they are out there. You’ll learn a lot of new patterns that way.
Ducks and geese can learn how to feast upon what a chicken does if raised by one. They’ll hunt for bugs and worms following their surrogate mother’s lead. Bugs and worms are outstanding food sources for chickens, but ducks and geese need less protein and more grass and greens. A wise farmer knows they will have to eventually separate those ducklings and goslings from their mama hens and place them with other ducks and geese if they are to grow to be healthy. Those little ducklings and goslings will have to be taught, through an example of their own kind, just how to be a duck or a goose.
Jesus calls us His little flock in Luke 12:32-33 – “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near, and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.”
If you hang around the water cooler of negativity and your heart gets defiled, you can still leave the tribe of Unkindness and find your own kind. Find a flock that brings life and hope, and encouragement! Seek uplifting Social Media creators whose followers don’t squabble amongst themselves. Follow Social Media creators who deal quietly and swiftly with trolls, even if it means they draw fewer followers.
It’s not too late to relearn how to be one of God’s flock of the Kind Ones. You’ll learn to enjoy and feast upon everything that will bring health to your body, soul, and spirit.
Bible Verses to ponder as you consider who you follow on Social Media and how you react to those you follow.
Ephesians 4:29 – Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Ephesians 4:32 – Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Until next week,
©2023 Katherine Walden