Delete That: (and Other Failed Attempts to Look Good Online)

by John Crist

My Facebook and Instagram feeds are filled with photos of people acting virtuous. But how do you think that homeless guy feels when you insist on taking a photo of yourself giving him a hamburger? I mean, I’m sure he’s happy for the food, but are we now insisting that the price of that burger for him is to become a prop on your ongoing quest to convince the world of your inherent decency?

So why do we continually follow people instead of following God? Why do we expect humans to be anything but, well, human?

Maybe this is what church was always supposed to be. It’s not a gala reception for life’s big winners. It’s for the broken, the sick.

Some people kneel to pray, some people stand up, sometimes there’s a pastor, sometimes there’s a priest, sometimes there’s an offering plate, sometimes there’s a cowboy hat, but at the end of the day, everyone is just yearning for a community and a place to belong.