LovebirdsFlying
My husband drew this cartoon of me.
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Some time ago I recall seeing skits put on for a church service. The theme was, types of Christians not to be. One character was gossiping and sitting in judgment of everybody else rather than focusing on Christ or the sermon. Another character treated church as a fashion show, more interested in what everybody was wearing than in worshiping the Lord. One woman prayed, as a man stood beside her acting the role of God hearing her. She kept cutting Him off every time He tried to speak to her, and then she said “Amen” and walked away sad and frustrated, wondering why God never answers her prayers.
But there was one character…. now, this annoyed me. She entered the room slowly, head bowed, clutching a teddy bear—a grown woman—speaking not a word to anyone. She then stood motionless in a corner, facing the wall, and didn’t answer anyone who tried to start a conversation with her. Apparent intended message, if you are an introvert or have clinical depression, you are not a good Christian.
Well, I say hogwash.
This is a gross misrepresentation of both depression and introversion. Please allow me to illustrate.
Sadness and depression are not the same thing. Sadness is when your elderly dog dies, and a month later when you see a dog food commercial that reminds you of him, it makes you cry. Depression is when you’re watching your children happily playing with their new puppy, and you just… can’t… feel… anything because you have a malfunction in your brain chemistry. One of these is normal. The other is a medical condition. Neither makes you a bad Christian.
As for introversion, that’s not the same thing as social anxiety, or being antisocial. By the way, even the woman standing in the corner with the teddy bear, refusing to speak to anyone, is not being antisocial.
Another illustration:
A group of people want to go out and play Bingo. I don’t want to join them. I don’t like Bingo. I’d rather stay home and read. Am I antisocial? I’ve been accused of it in this situation, but no. Antisocial would be if I go to the Bingo game and deliberately disrupt it. I won’t play by the rules. I destroy people’s cards and shout over the caller. The madder they get, the harder I laugh. That’s antisocial. Merely not wanting to go, isn’t.
The woman with the teddy bear would have been antisocial if it were full of rocks instead of stuffing, and she walked in and started smacking people with it. Now, that’s not good Christian behavior. Let’s not judge someone who wants to stand in a corner for some unknown reason. And leave her alone. How do you know she’s not silently praying, and you’re interrupting her?
I repeat the title. If you have depression or social anxiety, or if you have an introverted personality, Jesus loves you and can use you. None of this makes you a bad Christian.
But there was one character…. now, this annoyed me. She entered the room slowly, head bowed, clutching a teddy bear—a grown woman—speaking not a word to anyone. She then stood motionless in a corner, facing the wall, and didn’t answer anyone who tried to start a conversation with her. Apparent intended message, if you are an introvert or have clinical depression, you are not a good Christian.
Well, I say hogwash.
This is a gross misrepresentation of both depression and introversion. Please allow me to illustrate.
Sadness and depression are not the same thing. Sadness is when your elderly dog dies, and a month later when you see a dog food commercial that reminds you of him, it makes you cry. Depression is when you’re watching your children happily playing with their new puppy, and you just… can’t… feel… anything because you have a malfunction in your brain chemistry. One of these is normal. The other is a medical condition. Neither makes you a bad Christian.
As for introversion, that’s not the same thing as social anxiety, or being antisocial. By the way, even the woman standing in the corner with the teddy bear, refusing to speak to anyone, is not being antisocial.
Another illustration:
A group of people want to go out and play Bingo. I don’t want to join them. I don’t like Bingo. I’d rather stay home and read. Am I antisocial? I’ve been accused of it in this situation, but no. Antisocial would be if I go to the Bingo game and deliberately disrupt it. I won’t play by the rules. I destroy people’s cards and shout over the caller. The madder they get, the harder I laugh. That’s antisocial. Merely not wanting to go, isn’t.
The woman with the teddy bear would have been antisocial if it were full of rocks instead of stuffing, and she walked in and started smacking people with it. Now, that’s not good Christian behavior. Let’s not judge someone who wants to stand in a corner for some unknown reason. And leave her alone. How do you know she’s not silently praying, and you’re interrupting her?
I repeat the title. If you have depression or social anxiety, or if you have an introverted personality, Jesus loves you and can use you. None of this makes you a bad Christian.