When a Meme Makes You Rethink Your Childhood
There’s a meme that I’ve seen make the rounds on social media over the last 6 months. I saw it a lot, then it went away for awhile, came back for a season, then snuck away again… until this week, when I saw it resurrected itself on the page of a childhood hero.
Perhaps you’ve seen it…
I’m willing to wager that you had an immediate and spontaneous reaction when you first saw this meme. You know, the kind of reaction that is reflexive and couldn’t be stifled because it came from somewhere deep within.
What was your reaction? Think for a moment about how you felt…..
For most of us, our gut reaction was probably aligned with one of two things:
Our politics
Our posture on masks and vaccines
But let’s consider that reaction for a moment. Suppose, instead, that you had seen this meme?
These are, of course, childhood pictures of President Biden and Dr. Fauci.
Was your reaction different than before? I mean, really, consider it for a moment. Dig deep.
Maybe your reaction was different, or maybe it wasn’t.
If your reaction was the same both times, then maybe that says a lot.
These aren’t just caricatures, these are human beings. And if our reaction to these childhood photos in the second meme is the same as our reaction to the first meme… then it may be time for some self-reflection.
For me personally, it is helpful to remember that both of these people were once children… and was that really so very long ago? And, in a way, they still are children, they are “children of God.”
Joe Biden is a child of God.
Anthony Fauci is a child of God.
I was first confronted with this idea a couple of election cycles ago when, during the Election of 2016, someone posted this:
It drew a lot of affirmation and a lot of ire.
I think that we can all agree, though, that there has been a LOT of mocking people going on over the last few years… and it’s not just limited to the election cycle
Mocking has become a national pastime, making fun of those with whom we disagree.
Because we often can’t go toe-to-toe academically with experts in the exchange of ideas, we have tended to resort to name-calling and poking fun.
Below-the-belt jabs are now the norm.
And I’ve got to say, I think Christians have become the worst about this.
I even ran across an article recently, written by a pastor, that was titled, “Sometimes, Mocking Someone is the Most Christian Thing One Can Do.”
Yeah… no.
Just, no.
I am disappointed and—I’m going to say—outright alarmed at how Christians talk about others these days. We Christians more and more use incendiary language in order to victimize and dehumanize those with whom we disagree or downright dislike. Then, we rationalize it as though THEY are the problem.
… if THEY didn’t think that way.
… if THEY didn’t vote that way.
… if THEY didn’t act that way.
Then we wouldn’t have to be THIS way.
But the Bible is very clear:
WHAT we say to each other,
what we say ABOUT each other, and
HOW we say it matters.
… a LOT!
In Matthew 15:10-11, Jesus said,
“Listen, and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”
Can you hear the exasperation in Jesus’ voice there. “Listen! And TRY to understand!” Please?!
In Jesus’ day, they thought that it was what they ate or drunk that made them sinful.
Kind of like what I was taught in my home church growing up… it was alcohol and cigarettes that are a sin, that defiled me.
Jesus said, “yeah, nope,” it’s not the stuff you are putting into your piehole that’s a sin, it’s the trash that’s coming out of it that is the real problem.
Or today, he’d say, “it’s the trashy words that are typed out by your hand on Facebook that are making you dirty.”
The way we treat each other, especially those with whom we disagree, is one of the most common problems in relationships of any flavor. A critical or mocking spirit of another human being is at the root of almost all conflict, and dare I say, personal dysfunction.
Many followers of Christ have become so critical of others with whom they disagree that they have become not just dysfunctional as a Christian, but toxic.
Yes, I’m going to say it.
A Christian who mocks others is toxic.
This really matters.
And we should care a lot of about avoiding this toxicity because Jesus clearly and emphatically stated,
“I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. [or that you type] The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.” — Matthew 12:36-37
I think the problem is, though, that we Christians have become elitist.
And there is nothing more antithetical to the way of Christ than to become proud, boastful, and elitist, i.e. thinking we are better than others.
We truly believe that our political party is the one ordained by God.
We truly believe that our “research” on masks and vaccines is right.
We truly believe that our opinion on government, health, wealth, and all things in between is the right way.
Thus, meaning everyone else is on the wrong side….
…. And somewhere along the way we became elitist and started mocking those—Christian or not—who disagree.
What have we become?
Words matter.
Words create worlds.
When we go around always thinking “They’re wrong and I’m right,” we are not living under grace, we are living in the Law.
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?
“Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” — Matthew 7:1-5
One of the Bible’s core principles is that God treats us in much the same way that we treat others. If we are merciful to others, then we receive mercy. If we forgive others, then God will forgive us. But if we judge others God will judge us.
We don’t much like to think of God in that way.
We like to think of God as judging others for their politics, their heresy, their mouths, and their facebook posts… but we don’t much like the thought of God judging us for that stuff.
If we are strict, judgmental, or critical though… oh wow, the Bible says we should be concerned about our future.
HOW WE TREAT OTHERS IS AT THE VERY HEART OF CHRISTIANITY.
The heart of Christianity involves biblical story after story of the proper Christian treatment of others. Consider the Good Samaritan, the Woman at the Well, Prostitutes, Tax-Collectors, Lepers, The Beatitudes, the Prodigal Son, and I could go on and on.
The whole of scripture is about how important it is to treat others well, no matter how loathsome you might think that they are.
(And, frankly, if you loathe a person, you might want to rethink your particular brand of Christianity anyway…. But I digress.)
I spent a number of years early in my career working in the radio industry.
One of the stations at which I worked had an official scripture verse, and all of the on-air talent were required to read the verse over the airwaves once every half hour.
I said it so many times over the years that it actually embedded itself in my memory in a way that I couldn’t get it out even if I wanted to. And that darn verse literally resurrects itself in my mind every few days, whether I like it or not. No other verse has ever done that. I simply can’t get rid of it, and I am certain that if I ever develop a form of dementia or memory loss, this verse will be the last thing to go.
It’s scratched onto the surface of the hard drive of my mind.
It comes from Paul his letter to the church at Ephesus. He writes to them:
“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.” — Ephesians 4:29
I think that this verse is pretty self explanatory.
What comes out of our mouth, matters. If it’s not building others up, but tearing them down, then it is not of God. It is anti-Christ.
In fact, what Paul actually writes is not “that it may benefit those who listen,” but that it provides “grace” to those who listen.
People listen closely to what we Christians say in our conversations.
People watch closely what we Christians write and post on Facebook.
When we say and post things that are unwholesome, we are not living out of our faith but out of something else. The word Paul uses for “unwholesome” is actually “rotten.” It’s used elsewhere in the Bible for rotten and decaying fruit, rotten fish… like putrid, nasty stuff.
He is speaking of words that aren’t healthy for anyone to speak or hear… words that contaminate and make one sick… words that create a disgusting atmosphere for anyone who hears them or sees them.
Have you ever been around someone who smelled like rotten fish… someone who stunk something awful, but didn’t know it?
That’s the picture here whenever we use words that tear others down.
We may not smell it but those around us see it, and it is so rancid that it makes them want to throw up.
Presidents don’t get a pass on this, you know. And neither do you.
The Bible says that what comes out of the mouth betrays what is going on deep within the heart.
The mouth is a lie detector for the soul.
So, let’s revisit this meme one last time.
When I saw this meme posted again this week, Ephesians 4:29 and all of those biblical admonitions against mocking others welled up with in me.
But my heart sank when I saw that the person who posted it was a spiritual giant from my childhood.
The heading above it said, “Reposting this because Facebook deleted it the first time.” Now, I’ve just got to say, if even Facebook thinks that something we post has crossed a line, we might should think twice as a Christian about posting it again. I mean, if the world is saying “Yeah, Kevin, I really don’t think that’s a good idea”… then maybe we should take a pause and reflect.
As for my childhood hero who posted the meme, I really don’t think there was any malice in mind. I think that they just thought it was funny.
In my experience, this person was always an unbelievably kind soul.
But upon deep reflection, that thought that it was only intended to be funny is nearly as concerning to me as if malicious intent was intended.
Arguing over ideas, policies, and politics is one thing, but poking fun at the way someone looks is, well, it’s quite a different thing altogether.
How do we even get to the point of such great dislike for someone that we find it funny to mock the way that they look?
But then, I noticed that there was quite a high comment count on the post. And I flinched.
Should I click?
I knew I wasn’t going to like what I would see if I did, but I couldn’t help myself.
So I clicked.
I wish that I wouldn’t have clicked.
I wish that I had remained blissfully unaware of the Pandora’s box that I was about to open, because when I clicked through to the comments and “likes”, what I saw was a page full of people—all from my childhood, all whom I looked up to and spiritually admired—making fun of our President and Dr. Fauci.
And not just Biden and Fauci, but pages and pages filled with mockery of people and issues about which they disagreed.
There was laughter at the expense of others. There was loads of derision. And page after page of slander, unwholesome talk, and mocking of others.
It shocked me.
My heart sank.
As I clicked through their personal pages, what I got was a wall of hatred, mocking, and—I just gotta say it—unChristlike behavior directed towards people of a certain party and anyone who thought masks or vaccinations, or Love of Neighbor was a good idea. And it wasn’t the sort of dialogue that dealt with ideas and beliefs. It was catty humor that made jokes, used salty language here and there, and outright mocked politicians, scientists, and really anyone who didn’t agree with their particular brand of Christian Nationalism.
These pages were filled with people who had drilled stories like the Good Samaritan into my head… people who had forced me to memorize verses like “Do unto others as you would have them do to you” from the Sermon on the Mount… people who had led me in songs about loving others…
And here they were, on parade, clearly allowing their politics to short-circuit their following of the Way of Jesus.
I would have been just as broken-hearted had the mockery been directed at Trump.
I don’t believe that they intended to mock Biden and Fauci, and yet, it was clear that there was so little respect (or better said, there was so much anger and hostility towards them) that they felt it acceptable to publicly mock those in public service to our nation, in public service to them.
And I think this is a good place to close, because I have no right to grandstand here.
I am certain that I have publicly mocked others in the past. I’m not perfect. And I’ve probably let more than a handful of people down along the way in so doing.
I’ve matured a lot in my faith… and I still have a long way to go.
But you know, I’m more than a little sad today.
It’s a little like someone took a mallet and smashed the mirror into which I looked at my childhood church… the community of faith that surrounded me, loved me, and eventually set me sailing into deeper waters.
Were they always that way and I didn’t see it?
All those decades ago, were WE that way?
Did they change? Did I change?
How can I be a product of a faith community that mocks and criticizes in such rotten ways?
I’m going to be blunt.
I can’t ever really put those people back up on that childhood pedestal of respect ever again now.
I’ll never see them as a spiritual giant.
I can’t unsee what I have seen… what I have read…
And maybe, just maybe, that’s a really good thing.
Jesus should probably be there on that pedestal anyway, not them.
And transparently, I’m thankful that I am mature enough to recognize that.
And this won’t affect my faith one bit. It will strengthen it and press me to call it out when I see it in others.
But I’ve gotta be honest, there are a lot of people watching and listening to what you and I are saying and typing… and you know what, if we mock others, speak rotten words about them, tear others down, or otherwise judge people, then a lot of people are going to turn their back on God because of it.
And this is where the rubber meets the road. This is where all of this really matters the most.
Politicians and the medical community are easy targets sometimes, right?! But at what cost for the Christian?
At. What. Cost.
Let’s stop worrying about the sawdust in the eyes of others and start spending our time pulling the logs out of our own eyes.
Or, at least, someone smarter than I thought that would be time well spent.
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