Just a Thought by Hannah Shu

Hannah Sent this to a group of people including myself and I thought it was great so I asked her if it was okay if I could post this on here. I also asked her and a number of people if they'd be willing to write more things like this for Fighting The Cynic, so if you have any ideas or things you want to share about let me know via facebook!

I was just thinking... does Facebook make you less of a Christian? Think about it - what do your status' consist of? Song lyrics and whining about how you need this or want that. Or does it make you more of a Christian where you thank God for the day He gave you or the funniest thing He presented in your life that day. Personally, I think about what I put as my status - if it measures up to everyone else's status for the day - which is not how I am at all. Who cares if God's name appears at the top of my page? I should be proud, but in reality I'm more worried about what everyone else thinks; even though they know I'm a "christian." And it's not just Facebook - it's everyday life, simply put. The people I hang out with, go to dinner with, talk to... they're not Christians and I should see to it that I try my hardest to present God to them, but do I? Do you? I don't mean be as blunt as to say, "Hey, become a Christian or else you'll go to Hell." No, I'm just saying be the example, the Christian, you are proclaiming to be.

Otherwise we're no better than the christian extremists and hypocrites who are so far from the truth it's more tragic than anything. I know this probably sounds so old and repetitive, like, "Be the God-warrior God called you to be" and whatnot, but I don't mean it like that. It's just that ever since I moved away from home and into a dorm with four other girls who do not share my faith, and have no other friends (sad, but true) it's been harder than when I was in high school.

So, just know that if it's hard for you, too, that you're definitely not alone and I'm sure it would not bother anyone of us (Christians) to just say, "Hey, how's it going?" and mean it. Because that's what we really need... support that we feel is real. Okay, now I feel like Rob the Ramblin' man... seriously, though, don't hesitate to talk to another one of us if you're having even a rough hour. A simple, "Pray for me" could suffice (trust me, it takes a load off your back). I guess the point of this was to say that it's okay to take that "leap of faith" whether it be on Facebook or just saying, "Hey, how's it going?" to a friend - we all need encouragement and sometimes it's hard to find it. Okay... thanks for reading this, guys. -Hannah Shu