Whenever I say, “Be completely honest with me.”
…I’m not being completely honest.
I despise honesty.
No. I take that back.
I despise being honest.
However, I demand honesty in others.
As long as it lines up with what I believe.
When I say, “Tell me what you think about this.”
…I mean, “Tell me you agree.”
Maybe I’m alone in this state of mind but I don’t think so.
Over the years, I’ve met quite a few people who won’t tolerate opinions that differ from their own. These people may have considered themselves “friends” at one point but they have since “unfriended” me. The phenomenon of “unfriending” has only been available recently with the invention of “social media.” Before Facebook, there was no way to officially “unfriend” someone.
I mistakenly thought of some people as “friends” because they had no way to let me know my toxic views made it impossible for them to associate with me while remaining true to their conscience. People of good character can’t be friends with someone like me!
They unfriended me to end the agony caused by reading my extreme views.
I’m glad.
We used to be friends.
I want them to be happy.
Honestly!
If they find happiness in the delusion that they are absolutely correct about everything, then it is necessary to end our friendship. Real friendships cannot function without honesty.
Honest scales and balances are from the Lord; all the weights in the bag are of his making.
Proverbs 16:11
2 Responses
If we knew each other better and you could see my facial expressions and tone I’d open with a “oh that’s it, we can’t be friends anymore” joke, but fun sarcasm does not translate well in black and white. — I like this. Welcome to the world of social networking. I love differing opinions and good, intelligent conversation that is mutually respectful. I’ve run into trouble when differing opinions are peppered with derogatory phrases like “only an idiot would think thus and such” or w/e. I’ve also learned that friends in real life does not always equal facebook friends. There are honestly just some things I’d rather not know – and I am sure I have people in my life who feel the same way about me. That was especially true when I was taking college classes and would get over excited and maybe over share what I was learning on FB. Turns out some people just don’t care what my sociology proff has to say about much. Who knew? (laugh). Social networking has taken away the social graces of a lot of us. while I don’t necessarily give two whits about social networking other than it helps in keeping connected with long distance friends and family, I think we still have a lot to learn.
Nice post.
Hi Deana,
Thanks for reading!