In Regards to Haters.

In fairly recent days, I have had some anonymous people talk about me and some of my friends on social media. While the person did not say rude things about me specifically, they did say awful things about some of my very good friends. The person in this situation may be joking, but I hope you would agree with me, that anonymously saying discouraging things about others is not funny. I have also had people text me saying hurtful things, but then the next time I see them they act like nothing happened. I am sure some of you have experienced things like this as well. It is sad how many people try to hide behind their electronics, so that they can throw hate in other people’s direction. 

First off, I would like to say that I feel sorry for the person that thinks they have to hate on others in order to find any worth in themselves. These people are not usually just flat out mean, inside they are just very insecure. If you are one of these people, you do not have to be. There are always going to be people who are better than you at something. You do not have to hate on others to make yourself look better. Christ did not do that to you, and He actually IS better than you. He is the only One Who has every right to make you feel bad about yourself. However, Instead of putting you down, Christ raises you up. And that is exactly what He tells us to do to others. He says to “Encourage one another and build each other up.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11) You certainly cannot encourage and raise up someone else by anonymously posting hurtful things about them. 

Another thing I have noticed is that people will say so many things online that they would never say in real life. I see it happen just about everyday on social media or over texts. People use their electronics as a shield to say things they would otherwise never say. If you cannot say it to a person’s face, then you probably should not be saying it at all. There are also the people who choose to remain anonymous. They try to mask themselves with the internet. The anonymous person, when they post mean things about others, says more about themselves than they do about the people they are actually posting about. They try to portray someone else as a monster, and end up becoming one themselves. If you have a problem with someone, I urge you to go confront them in love and in person. If you really care about someone and want to see them grow into a better person, then you will privately tell them how you feel and how you think they could improve. When you confront someone publicly, you are showing that you do not actually care about that person improving at all. 

Also, if you are on the receiving end of hateful or maybe even flattering words from an anonymous person on the internet, then I would encourage you to ask yourself if this person’s opinion should mean anything to you? In my experience, I have found that a compliment from an unnamed person is not going to mean very much to me, but a compliment from someone who knows and loves me is going to mean much more to me. As far as hateful words go, haters are really not your motivators. Hurtful words have a way of tearing your heart apart piece by piece. However, if you are getting bullied by an anonymous person, remember that they have done nothing to deserve your respect. If you are receiving rude, or even kind, comments from an anonymous person, don’t blow it out of proportion. Look at what the person is saying, and evaluate yourself to see if it is true. If it is true, then take the criticism and try to make changes in your life. If it is false, then simply move on. Do not let the words of a person, who really does not care about you, bring you down. As my Dad has always told me, “What’s true about you is what God says about you!”

In closing, I would like to remind us that, if we call ourselves Christians, then we misrepresent Christ if we lash out at people on social media. Our words are suppose to reflect God’s love, and that includes the words we choose to use on social media. If people are saying hateful things that are directed toward you, then your response to that is also suppose to reflect Christ. If you say hateful things back to them, then you are just the same as they are. So, watch your words for “they have the power of life and death.” (Proverbs 18:21). I want the world to see that Christians are different, even in the way they post on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and all social networks. 

If you have any questions, comments, or topics you would like me to write about, then please email me at christy@tonynolan.org . I love hearing y’all’s feedback. Thanks for reading.

So What's the Next Step?

To be honest, I’m in a really weird time of my life right now. It’s a good time, but it’s also a scary and stressful time. I’m almost finished with high school and I’m trying to figure out what the next step is. I have so many dreams, and I don’t know where to start. I can get so overwhelmed, and it’s like I just want God to write on the wall and tell me exactly what He wants me to do. However, more times than not, it doesn’t work that way. God has been teaching me so much about trust that I thought I would share some of it with you today. 

Sometimes, I can get so frustrated that I start questioning God’s plan for me. I don’t know what the next step is, so I start to think maybe God does not know what He is doing after all. I start to wonder what God’s plan for me actually is and if it really is a good plan. Have you ever been there? I’m sure some of you have. Satan loves to make us question God’s true intentions for us. If the Devil can get us to doubt God, then I bet he could get us to disobey God. In 1 Samuel 7:12 it says, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” When Satan tries to feed me doubt, this small verse gives me such assurance. The 7 words of this verse teaches us that we can look back at God’s faithfulness in the past when we start to doubt His plan for the future. Even when you don’t know what God is doing right now, you do know that He has been faithful to you in the past. He has never forgotten to sustain your pulse; He’s sustained you throughout your life thus far. He hasn’t failed you yet, so what makes you think He is going to start doing so now? That’s one of the beautiful things about the Gospel; you can have complete faith in God without having complete understanding of what He is doing. So, even when He isn’t writing on the wall and telling me exactly what the next step is, I can still “sing the Lord’s praises, for He has been good to me.” (Psalm 13:6)

While this is all great insight, my question still stands. What’s the next step, God? I have wrestled with this question for quite some time and continue wrestling with it.  However, I feel God has given me an answer. I think it can apply to a lot of our situations. It’s not really the answer we want when we are asking God what to do, but it’s the answer I think He is trying to give all of us. God is calling us to trust Him. It’s that simple. He just wants us to trust and follow Him. We might not know where we are going, but we know Who we are following. Do you hear the tender voice of our Savior? He is asking us, “Do you trust me?”  It’s a yes or no answer, yet we try to fit in our how, when, where, what, who, and why.  We try to ask about every detail and God is just saying, “Trust me, I’ll guide you where I want you to go.”

I do not say this truth to you lightly today. This is hard to swallow and difficult to do. However, it is so necessary for us to trust God. We have to realize that we can’t do it on our own. Our best option really is to trust God to guide us to the next step of our journey. 

If you have any questions, comments, or topics you would like me to write about feel free to email me at christy@tonynolan.org . I love getting emails from my readers and I try to give the best advice and answers that I can. Hope to hear from you soon and thanks for reading.