Enjoy this video:
This video proves that if you distance yourself just far enough from people and change your perspective just enough you can make yourself a giant and other people but tiny ants.
This guy is not alone in his delusion. From the lofty perch of our keyboards, in the comfort of our housecoats, and in the safety of our mother’s basement we bloggers can fool ourselves into thinking that we are bigger than we are. We can be tempted to use lofty and dicing words to sit atop our throne and crush the heads of all those that aren’t within close proximity to our theological camps.
I believe that every active blogger will at one time or another face the temptation to belittle a perceived opponent. Words are tools of the trade for bloggers. We know how to use them to build up others and exalt Christ. And, sadly, we also know how to use them to either outright belittle or subtly belittle through passive aggressive tactics.
Proverbs 11:12 reminds us that, “Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.” Faithful bloggers will avoid “Crushing Your Head”. Faithful bloggers will view themselves accurately and those with whom they differ with respect and courtesy. Faithful bloggers don’t belittle.
What Must Be Present for Belittling to Occur
In our above video there are a few things that must be present in order for him to “crush you like a bug”. First, you have to keep your distance from your opponent. It’s much harder to belittle someone that you have supper with. Of course you still can belittle those that are close to you, but it is more difficult to do so without feeling the effects. You can’t squish your next door neighbor like a bug without getting your hands filthy with bug guts. So if you want to be good at belittling other then by all means keep yourself a safe distance from those you wish to crush.
Secondly, in order to belittle someone you have to think of yourself as a giant and your opponent as an ant. This directly rejects the admonition of Philippians 2:3 to “in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” When we belittle another person we are making them smaller than they actually are (often denying the work and image of God within them). We also have to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to. Both of these come from an inadequate view of God, as well as self.
Faithful blogging comes from acknowledging that the people we interact with are actually living, breathing, yard-mowing, teeth-brushing, water-drinking people just like ourselves. They are no better than people. But they are certainly not less.
