Usually, Shakespearean tragic heroes have one tragic flaw that lends to their downfall.I couldn't have been one, not only because I'm a woman and my part would have been played by a boy anyway, but because I have so many tragic flaws that I never would have been a hero in the first place. Ahem.
There are lots of things that bother me. There are lots of things that I don't like. There are lots of things I don't think are good ideas. Add to the mix a smartypants attitude and an arsenal of words with which to convey a variety of shades of disdain, and you have me at my worst. A snobby critic. A critical snob. A snobical crit.
When I go into snob-critic mode, my mouth becomes disembodied from my face and goes on pessimistic, snarky autopilot. How un-nice. At the time, I think I'm right and witty. Later, I think I would have done better keeping my piehole, if there is such a thing, cerrado.
Here's something I'm learning: It's not always worth it. You have to pick your (verbal) battles. If people want to think something I don't agree with, they still have the right to think it, don't they? I'm not the thought police. I'm learning how appointing myself to the position of enlightener isn't always the best idea. It usually ends up causing contention more than it does fostering dialogue. The only thing that is advanced are hot puffs of exhaled air.
For example, I think doorknocking is outdated. To people who read this and don't come from a conservative, Evangelical background, that's going door to door inviting people to your church. A la Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. I think it worked in 1950s America when John and Martha would drop by uninvited to Glen and Susan's for casserole and apple pie, but now it's just an opportunity for folks to get annoyed and/or mistake you for Jehovah's Witnesses. (No offense to Jehovah's Witnesses.) People barely know their own neighbors nowadays, and an uninvited knock on the door is usually cause for slight alarm. Unless you're a Girl Scout with cookies in tow.
What I feel is more effective (and what people would be more likely to want to get involved in) are activities that demonstrate your church's involvement in the community—Blood drives, free car washes, setting up a booth at a city-wide activity, volunteerism, health fairs—stuff that says "I am contributing to and am a part of the community that I am trying to reach as a member of the Body of Christ" rather than "Here's a tract, hope to see you in service."
You see what I mean? Although I think I have valid, productive points, the disembodied snark mouth can express this and it come across like a negative smartypants meanie head. I guess I'm still learning how to get my point across without critique being the centerpiece of my statement.
1 comment:
I completely agree with you on the whole door-knocking tract thing being outdated. Personally, I think for the most part, tracts are outdated in general. If I were to go up to someone at school, hand them a tract and say, "Jesus loves you. Have you accepted him as your personal savior?" They would laugh at me and probably give me a swirly.
I remember when I was about eight, we used to go door to door, taking surveys about what people believed. We would ask them some questions, hand them a tract, and say something along the lines of, "Jesus loves you, come to church." We had no results, and people were typically annoyed by us. I was annoyed by us, to tell the truth. There's nothing more annoying than someone questioning your faith when they knock on your door, interrupting your day.
So, we did that for a few years, and pretty much nobody came in. Then, we had a community day last year, we gave away candy and bikes and stuff, and voila, fifty kids still come to our church a year later.
*dismounts from soapbox*
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