The Pinterest Meanie

Pinterest fan, anyone? Me too.  I am finding most women my age are into Pinterest these days.  I love the collaborative feel over there, you know? The way everyone shares ideas and plans.  No one takes credit--we just all share. It's a pretty sweet community.  We applaud each other's taste, repin or "like" things we, too, find fascinating.  It's a pretty much a virtual pat-on-the-back community.  So imagine my surprise when I read my email a few weeks ago and realized I had a comment on one of my pins.

A derogatory comment.  Toward my religious beliefs.  I had posted a set of "family rules" that included Christian values and she didn't like it.  Not one bit.

Seriously?  I read it. I re-read it. I thought maybe she meant it some other way.  Maybe facetiously?  Nope, it was just downright mean.

Now, if you know me, or if you've read this blog for all of five seconds, you know my religious beliefs are no secret.  And I guess the thing I'd never realized about Pinterest is that ANYONE can see your pins--they don't have to follow you. Everything comes up on the live feed.  So, it really shouldn't have been a surprise that someone disagreed.  What was more surprising to me was that the person felt so strongly about it she needed to tell me I was wrong.

Two things really struck me about this whole thing:

1) I started looking into this person's comments and she continually made negative comments to people.  She did often complain about religious beliefs but she also criticized strangers for their taste in clothes, decorations, and pretty much anything else.  In fact, I only saw one positive comment.  And it made me sad for this woman. So I've been praying for her.  And praying that my own heart doesn't look like her comments--because I know deep down it does.  I may not be saying it on people's walls or to their faces. But I have opinions. Many. And sometimes, they're not nice.  Often.  So yeah, my heart is as gunky as her Pinterest posts.  Ouch.

2) I really had to think about whether this hurt me because her lack of faith in the God I know and love or because of her disagreement with ME.  And when I searched, I did find I was a little sad for her not knowing my savior. But I was more sad that we didn't agree.  It was all about me.  Not about her soul or our ability to share commonality. It was about me not being right in her eyes.  Double ouch.

If you're wondering, I never commented back.

I haven't been on Pinterest as much lately, and maybe it's because of the Pinterest Meanie.  I also learned, though, that Jesus can defend himself. I need to be more concerned about my ability to be kind and to truly live the gospel in a way that makes it appealing. So, Pinterest Meanie, you make me sad but I pray the Lord sends you Christians to help you see His truth.

And I pray the same for me.