in which internet rants get me down

It seems every time I log in to Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr these days, there is a new scandal. The commentary on scandals follow like this: Christians are perplexed. Former Christians are outraged. Those Who Keep a Respectful Distance are usually confused. Everyone tries to offer a solution, which is simple, but always controversial.

The internet lights up, and my Facebook feed becomes a hall of podiums.

I shut my laptop and shut the blinds. Occasionally, I’ll try to diagram the arguments in my head, but they soon run in circles. Because “wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy…” and anger rarely makes a logical case.

I want to shut these people out. I have enough troubles to deal with— I could give you a list. (And in my head, I have a separate list of the dangers of ranting online, and how the internet incentivizes skepticism and outrage.)

But shutting out is what the debaters do; a mind closed to reason is not one of the fruits of the “wisdom from above.” I pull back open the blinds.

A quick review of our context pulls the scene back into perspective. We are all victims and instigators in a cracked universe. Annie Dillard called herself a “frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world” who has “eaten and have done my share of eating too.”

Disappointment, heartbreak, betrayal, divorce. Disrespect, mutilation, violence, verbal lashings. We live in a world where these things are not surprising, watching what we love burn before our eyes. Isn’t that victimhood enough for us all?

There is a central hunger. The world throbs as one. Only when seen in this context does arguing begin to sound like the mourning that it is.

And of course, as my Facebook feed refreshes for new scandals, I remember: this pain is ours to keep, but not always, and not forever. Samwise was right—the sad things will come untrue. One day, all of mournings’ forms—shrieking arguments and cowed silences—will empty out. He who took our pain as His own will fill us. Finally.