When Facebook Ignites Ages-old Human Nature
As high school seniors across the nation receive their acceptances to colleges and universities, they join Facebook pages for the admitted freshman class of each institution. They post a few pictures of themselves and a short autobiography, and they scroll through others’ posts to find roommates and meet future classmates. Recently, I found myself making instant judgements about people and comparing myself to them, and I realized I had adopted my mentality at the beginning of high school.
I felt inclined to categorize people and to sacrifice little pieces of my identity in order to relate to others and become a part of their groups. I was startled because I thought I had shed that attitude years ago, but I realized I had only outgrown it because I grew more comfortable with the environment; what was new became old. I found my niche and gained confidence; but upon entering a new environment, the same defensive tendencies predictably returned.
When founding the early Church, the apostles encountered many similar situations and offered good advice. In Romans 14:13, Paul wrote, “Then let us no longer judge one another, but rather resolve never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.” In 1 Corinthians 1:10, he added, “…be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.” Peter commented as well, writing: “Since you have purified yourselves by obedience to the truth for sincere mutual love, love one another intensely from a pure heart” (1 Pt 1:22). We are all striving for the same goal, and we must help each other along the path. This is only possible when we abandon our concerns about measuring up.
Our relationships with others should not be competitive in any negative nature. We often feel threatened by people that we see as better versions of ourselves in some way, but we need to be confident in who we are and in our journey to improve for God, not for others. The apostles were surely uncomfortable in strange places as they traveled, but they did not compromise their identities or their message. They did not allow insecurities or comparisons to blind them to their purpose. Just so, we must resist the temptation to assess our worldly status and accommodate our imagined failings. Instead, we must focus on our love for God as common ground and refer to it as the basis for all our relationships and decisions throughout life.
Though it will be a new freshman year, we are not required to regress to a freshman psychology. If we do, the past four years will have been for naught; we will have learned nothing. As the time approaches for many of us to immerse ourselves into new settings, we must be aware of the temptations to judge and compare. We must resist the temptations to feel superior or inadequate, and approach everyone with God’s love.
