My message Sunday was on Humility where, among other things, I talked about a not-so-rare disease called “Twitter-itis,” the condition that causes one to retweet whatever flattering thing was said to or about them on Twitter to their own hundreds or thousands of loyal, adoring followers.
The problem is that this is a disease we all suffer from, to one degree or another, regardless of whether or not we’ve ever been on Twitter.
Interestingly, I read a fascinating article yesterday (came out a day too late!) in the Wall Street Journal (does that make me sound smart? Please, I need your affirmation) about how Facebook (and, by extension, all forms of social networking) has led to an exponential increase in bragging.
One of the points I made Sunday was that a form of pride that often goes undiagnosed is inferiority. With this form of pride, though we’re not bragging because we think so highly of ourselves, we tend to brag to try and make others think more highly of us in order to compensate for how poorly we truly see ourselves. The article addressed that problem, as well:
People brag for all sorts of reasons, [Hanks] says: to appear worthy of attention or love or to try and cover up our deepest insecurities. To prove to ourselves that we’re OK, that people from our past who said we wouldn’t measure up were wrong. Or simply because we’re excited when good things happen to us.
The bottom line is that the only healthy place to be is when you are so comfortable with who you are in Christ, that you’re comfortable with how others see you, regardless. You are free to build others up (Philippians 2:3-4) and free to refrain from tooting your own horn (Proverbs 27:2).
Pride is a killer and bragging is just a symptom, and it’s a problem we all have, in and out of the Twitterverse.
Read the full article here.
