Of Penguins and Profound Thoughts

I just spent the past 48 hours trying to decide whether to be more profound on Facebook.

See, I have a Facebook "friend" who uses his status updates very intentionally. He is always displaying some new missiological insight, statistics about global poverty, challenges to think globally, etc. In a word, his posts are purposeful.

So I've been reflecting about my own updates. Sometimes they are pretty thoughtful - as when I am trying to raise awareness about an injustice, or when my quiet time spills over into a status update, reflecting a heart that is full of Him. Other times they are warm, grateful comments about family and friends. Sometimes they are just silly or fun or factual. Should I try to be more profound in my updates? That was the heart of my question.

Over the course of the last two days I reflected on mine and others' updates. I thought about things from a missiological and relational perspective. I realized that the updates are a microcosm of the person. Those who are family-oriented tend to post updates about their family life. Others who are on Facebook for business tend to post about business events. Those who view life as a fun adventure tend to post silly, fun updates. And those like my friend, who are on Facebook very intentionally, tend to post updates that are in line with that intention.

The reality of my life doesn't reflect specialization, but diversification. Every job I've had has been to some degree a "finger in many pies" job. My friends run the gamut of personality types and interests. I'm very serious, but I also have deep, close family relationships. I tend to be task-oriented, but my relationships with my friends are important to me. And there is a lighter side of me, the side that loves to belt out "I like to move it, move it" every few days since seeing Madagascar. I also know that I can be very encouraging when the Holy Spirit speaks through me - but when I try to be profound, I flop. It has to be Him, not me.


Part of the struggle God and I had to work through about this blog was me laying down my desire to be profound every time. What I want is for Him to work through me every time. To do that, I have to quit trying to be profound. I have to quit assuming that every post has to have a certain "angle" and just let Him do with my words what He will. The Facebook struggle was similar.

Tonight, I was excited about seeing "The Penguins of Madagascar" on Nickolodeon. That doesn't make me shallow; I spent quite a bit of time today studying about global poverty and various theories of development. Both aspects of my life are equally authentic. As I reflected about Facebook, I realized that I want Facebook to be an extension of my quest for authenticity in life.

People in poor urban areas and rich high-rises, those who have never heard the name of Christ and those who go to tell them, all relate best to people who are authentic. After spending too many years trying to present an image, the quest for authenticity is important to me.

So, that means sometimes I post updates that are an overflow from my quiet time. Sometimes I post about a particular injustice that angers me. Sometimes I post significant facts. Sometimes I give factual updates. And sometimes I just talk about Penguins. It's all real. It's all me. And at the end of the day, I think it makes ministry more effective.