There was a time of little choice. Not long ago, the news you got was whatever the local paper decided to print and what the local TV and radio stations decided to broadcast. You didn't get to pick, and the only filter you had was your choice whether or not to read a given article. If you were lucky, your source of news was relatively objective.
Then cable TV happened. Then the Internet happened. And then we had plenty of choices. Not only could we choose sources that leaned more in our preferred direction on any topic or interest, we could effectively filter out anything we didn't want, whether it was a topic we didn't care about or an opposing view on a topic we did care about.
Then social media happened, and we could easily repost any article that affirmed the view we already had, or post the worst of the view we didn't like, with the comment, "See? See how wrong they are and how right I am?" Politics, religion, conference rivals, race, terrorism, vaccinations, and ... sadly ... dress colors.
It is not my concern here to encourage you to be fairminded and read a variety of views to be well-rounded, informed, and empathetic. Of course you should, but barking up that tree distracts from another tree I want to yelp up.
Posting only the best of your side and the worst of the other side, then crying out, "See?!?", is dishonest. It's unnecessarily polarizing in an environment already about to snap. It makes you feel better about what you already believe, and shuts off any maturation of your view. It reveals some level of insecurity about your own view, like snuggling up in bed with your blankie and teddy bear during a rainstorm rather than running outside and playing in the pooling waters with the neighbor kids.
We end up reading the news, looking for ways to say, "Gotcha!", rather than to learn about the world around us.
Most of all, it presents an inaccurate view of the Kingdom of God. It tells others that the king you serve is not a listener. It paints a picture of a fragile kingdom, threatened by complex views. Apparently, this kingdom is not into dialog, interaction, discovery, and mutual respect. It makes rigidity the king, rather than a King who is so secure that he fears no opinion or a King who delights in others more than in their opinons. It diverts eyes away from this King.
Disagree. In fact, be really good at disagreeing. Be really, really good while you disagree.
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