Social Media Fight

Tom & boys "camp" in backyard

Sometimes our life on the islands seems so different than life in America.  Differences in culture, values, history and technological advancement mean that some of the things people think about, argue about, struggle with are just different.  For example, childhood obesity is not an issue in the islands.  Kids simply don’t have the same access to things like fast food, high fat foods, sugary drinks, or unlimited sedentary activities like online gaming.  Another example would be gender issues, because of values and culture, gender issues are not a big topic of discussion on the islands.  Alternatively, Americans don’t give much thought to colonialism or issues surrounding polygamy, while these are always hot topics on the islands. 

But every so often we see similar situations pop up in both cultures, revealing the singular nature of humanity.  And it happened this week on an island group chat.

We have been much encouraged to see our island brothers and sisters getting creative during this COVID season and finding ways to use technology and social media to encourage and strengthen one another.  One of those ways was through a messaging group, allowing everyone to share prayers, verses, songs, pictures, videos and concerns.  They called the group, “Peace” and it has been wonderful to see the island family using this tool to encourage one another.  But this week a common problem of modern America overtook the Peace Chat- text fighting.

It all started with a well intentioned post with a link to a site that was meant to encourage. The problem is that it included some theological views that are not shared by everyone.  As soon as I saw the text, I wondered what the reaction would be.  Not long after, one brother sent a message. It was carefully worded, encouraging people to be careful and read everything in light of scripture.  I thought that might be the end of it and breathed a sigh of relief.  But then, the next day, another brother weighed in. This time with the sort of blunt and provocative sort of response we have all grown too used to on the internet.  He was picking a fight.  Sure enough, I checked my messages an hour later to see 50 new messages!  The Peace Chat had been taken over by a text fight.

Different thoughts went through my mind.  Should I get involved?  Should I contact the instigator or the administrator of the group?  In the end, I decided that in this case (being so far from the islands), the best action I could take was to pray; asking God to help the leaders to make wise decisions and to bring peace back to the Peace Chat.

Exploring local trails

So I watched. I saw one brother, through his posts, try to diffuse the argument.  Later the group administrator posted a gentle reminder to the group about what the purpose of the Peace Chat was for and asking to return to that purpose.  Finally, we got a personal phone message from her asking for prayer and explaining how she had worked behind the scenes to speak directly to the instigator of the fight and bring about some reconciliation.  Praise God! I don’t think anyone could have handled it better. 

So picking fights on social media is an island issue too!  I think it reveals something of our universal human nature.  No matter what culture we come from, it is always easier to say harsh, mean, provocative things when we don’t have to look into the face of the one who we are addressing.  Somehow that anonymity gives us license or boldness or a false sense of righteousness that we just don’t feel when face to face.  And let he who has never sent a text or posted a message that he regretted throw the first stone.  But thank God that we do not have to accept our darker nature, but with the help of a loving community and the Holy Spirit, we can find a better way, find reconciliation and encourage peace.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are thankful that it seems like the “Peace Chat” has moved on to more encouraging and unifying topics. Our colleagues on the small island are feeling much better and seem to be on the road to recovery now- thank you for praying! We have bought tickets to go to CA on June 6th. We’re excited to have a plan to spend time with Megan’s family (even if it ends up that they are the only people we see while we’re in CA).

PRAYERS REQUESTED
There is only one week left of the month of fasting on the islands. The month culminates in the biggest holiday of the year where islanders usually go around to greet as many people as possible and shake everyone’s hands. We are hoping that islanders will pass on this island tradition, but we’re not sure what they will do instead. Give the islands wisdom as they try to celebrate while hopefully preventing the unnecessary spread of COVID. We just had word today that our good friend Ma Imani’s daughter is sick with a fever, we don’t know if she has other COVID symptoms, but please pray for her healing and for the extended family as they are all in close contact on the big island.