Quiet! Ye restless spirit that itches to jump into the fray. The bait is dangling right there — that foolish, ignorant, lying comment, that ridiculous meme just dying to be ridiculed, that — that thing that must not go unchallenged.
Quiet. What’s that expression, “Don’t feed the trolls”? One of the better memes out there says something like, “Life is too short to be spent arguing with strangers on the internet.”
But what if it’s no stranger? What if it’s a friend who posted something foolish, ignorant, or downright false? Now there’s a conundrum.
My humble advice is to pray. If you don’t believe in prayer, that’s another conversation, but for now, just contemplate and meditate on your friend’s words or deed. Then, check your facts. Is it really downright false? If so, speak the truth in love, gently. Is it really something worth risking a fight over? If so, speak the truth in love, gently.
And if you can’t do it gently, with sincere love, well, then …
Quiet. Until you can.
