(I had the honor to meet Stephanie Kearns a few weeks ago at an event in Greenville, Illinois. She is hilarious! She told me an idea she had for a guest post and I loved it. I begged her to write it. Here it is. Enjoy!)
Being Disappointed That it’s Serious Wednesday on SCL by Stephanie Kearns
It happens every week. You click on the bookmark to take you to SCL for your daily dose of sarcasm, satire and snark. Then, while the page is loading, you have a sinking moment of disappointment because suddenly you realize…it’s Wednesday.
Wednesday is a perfectly good day, except for the fact that on SCL, Wednesdays are serious.
For many of us, Stuff Christians Like is our own private playground. It’s a place where we get to laugh at the ridiculous things we do within the culture of North American Christianity. It’s self-deprecating, introspective and nostalgic all at the same time. It is a fun and happy place. And we hold tightly to it.
But once a week, we have to pause and be thoughtful, or self-examining, or have our toes stepped on because one of our character flaws or spiritual weaknesses is brought up. And really, who wants that???
We want the funny. We get enough of all that serious stuff from Church, or Small Groups or Bible Studies. We get enough guilt from our parents or spouses or friends. We don’t want to go to our happy place, and find it there. It doesn’t matter that those moments of seriousness help us just as much as the laughing does.
The two to three minutes it takes to read, laugh, then tweet, or post the link on facebook is OUR time. Like the “generation before us” wants to only sing hymns on Sunday mornings, we want only funny from SCL. We are selfish.
We forget that it’s not just Christians that read SCL. We forget that there are those who are seeking Christ, and somehow find their way to SCL. Or there may be Christians that are struggling with work, or family, or money, or a recent move. It is quite possible that one of these people might stumble upon something like #687 Acting surprised when God doesn’t seem close.
Wait. Hold on. That was one of the first posts I read on Stuff Christians Like. I think I might have posted the link on facebook. I’m pretty sure that I even emailed it to a brother or two. I think I might have been in the middle of a really low point spiritually when I read that. I’m pretty sure I grabbed my bible and remembered where the real solutions come from. Ugh. This means at one time I was INSPIRED by a Serious Wednesday post.
…sigh…
Let me start over.
It happens every week. You click on the bookmark to take you to SCL for your daily dose of sarcasm, satire and snark. Then, while the page is loading, you have a sinking moment of disappointment because suddenly you realize…it’s serious Wednesday. But instead of being disappointed, you stop, take a deep breath and lift up a quick prayer, wondering how you will apply what you read today.
Have you ever been disappointed it’s Serious Wednesday or is that your favorite day on SCL?
(For more great stuff from Stephanie, check out her blog http://spinningnowhere.blogspot.com/)
