I just perused through truthsayer's post about the mudslinging and the backbiting that occasionally happens here on Soulcast. The post essentially wonders if it's worth it anymore to continue to stay and to be loving to others when they clearly don't appreciate it, and instead spew hate in different ways.

The Internet is great for gossip, and horrible for accountability. You can pick any screenname you want, say anything you want, and not fear accusations of verbal abuse, prejudice, sexism, and so on. You might get your  account banned, but there's always more blog sites and message boards. The speed of the Internet allows us to type first without thinking, saying things out of impulsiveness and anger rather than thoughtfulness. It's communication meets instant gratification, and that's quite the unhappy marriage often.

I see people fearing their spouses are cheating on them, or that they're considering cheating on their spouses. They share this with total strangers, but not their spouse. They will bicker and complain about people in real life, but it does nothing to solve their anger - in fact, if we tell a story about how stupid someone was at the store, most of us will agree because we only get one side of the story. It's so easy to puff ourselves up  when no one knows who we really are.

But there are genuine bonds formed here on Soulcast. Bonds of friendship, someone to pray for, someone to debate with, someone to listen, and so on. How many of us are actually dependent upon our online identities, because our real lives are lacking in some way? And how many of us have important things to say that are genuinely good for everyone to hear, online or otherwise?

I see erotica written for people who enjoy a little titillation. It is a hobby to some, pleasure to others, and probably a bunch of other things. If we had truly fulfilling sex lives, would we even bother with it though?

I see posts saying, "Fuck you, (insert username here)", filled with hatred, anger, and impulsive words.

I see Christians told they are mentally disadvantaged for their beliefs, or for all other religious beliefs, as well.

I see people asking strangers for advice about their real lives, instead of working on communicating with their loved ones, face to face.

I also see wealth of opinions that express that it's ok to keep an affair secret from your spouse, that we have godlike powers within ourselves, that it's ok to be bitter at ex-spouses (instead of actually resolving the conflict), that prostitution should be legalized in the United States, that 9/11 was a government conspiracy to justify protecting oil reserves in the Middle East...personally, I find none of those ideas to benefit us in the long run.

It's all so complicated. What do we hold to?

We need to love one another. Not only to restrain ourselves from a tirade when someone pisses us off, but to refrain from pissing others off ourselves. We need to hold ourselves accountable, and conduct discussion like normal human beings. We can have a healthy, open forum of blogging that isn't a mediocre substitute for parts of our real lives. We can have the self-control to respect others, even if we know they're wrong. And if we feel we need to correct someone else, we CAN speak the truth lovingly.

We can leave our pride aside and actually apologize, instead of trying to twist our own words to save face. We can consider other points of view without shooting down another bluntly and disrespectfully. We can defer to others instead of trying to sound like we know it all...the list goes on.

And the core of it all is loving each other.

In today's world of relative morality (where one set of rules doesn't apply to everyone), we can justify anything. That's not necessarily right. We can hate on a person who hates us, and no matter how good we sound, it's little different than the classic case of "he started it!" when we were children. We justify being angry, but we don't often BECOME the change we want to see in the world.

The positive things I speak of are all backed up by the Lord my God. I serve a God of justice and love. He is meant to be the absolute morality for us all. I follow my Creator because He created me, loves me, and teaches me to hold true to these things I speak of. Even better, when I fall short of that, He forgives me. Wouldn't we all want that reassurance that no matter how bad we screw the pooch, God loves us no less than before? But also, we are called to offer that same forgiveness and understanding to others when THEY screw the pooch. Is it easy? Not always. Does it take self-control? A ton of it.

Does it sound like a lofty goal? Sure it is - but if it weren't, why would we shoot for something that was easy? What's the challenge in that? Most of us can pick up and dribble a basketball once or twice, but it takes determination and skill to actually play in the NBA. A lofty goal, but worth it to those who make it.

And so it is with loving others - as hard as it can be, we are rewarded and blessed for not making someone else look stupid, or being humble in front of others, or passing the chance to light someone up and instead give them some love they desperately need. Some of the most hateful people we come across weren't loved enough, so showing them genuine love and respect, in the face of their worst accusations, is the only thing that can transform a hard, bitter, human heart.

I also champion God in this because if I don't ask for His strength in loving unlovable people, I can't do it by myself. If we don't hold ourselves to a higher standard, we will fail in this lifelong exercise in loving others, even our enemies. We need to have a REASON for taking occasional abuse from someone who sees you as walking pond scum; loving them back in response disarms better than any weapon we have.

So with that, I would call Soulcast, regardless of creed, ethnicity, political stance, sexual orientation, family background, or philosophy,  to hold yourselves up to a higher standard, whatever it may be. There are times in everyone's life where we wanted to be loved and accepted, and we got let down by another - don't be the person to let down another. Don't be the person who gets fed up with a person used to being rejected. Love them instead. Love right until the very end of your last breath.  And see the reward God blesses you with.