I have almost 900 of them. Much to the chagrin of my wife, many of these “friends†I really have no idea who they are. Unless you are obviously dressed like a harlot and looking to drum up business on your smutty website, I okay every friend request. Then again, that is how I operate in real life also, happy to strike up a conversation with whoever says hi.
But here is the truth, I have never made a real friend on Facebook. And I suggest that for most people that is also true. There is not to demean Facebook as a way to communicate. I have found it a good way to keep up with family, old friends, and fellow pastors. But it is not a way to make real friends. And quite frankly, real friends are much more important that whatever we call what we have with people that we only have ever known on Facebook.
True friendship involves flesh to flesh interaction. It involves sharing the same space. It means trading words from lip to ear and looks from face to eye. It is about the slap on the back, the hug, or the manly refusal of any such embrace.
One of the many things to reflect upon as we near Christmas is that flesh to flesh interaction is critical. It is so critical that God took on flesh himself. He did so that he might be our real friend by laying down his life for us.
We need to think about what Facebook is and what it can accomplish. But we also must realize its limits. Real friends are made in real life where real flesh interacts. If we forget this, we will soon be connected with everyone and friends with no one. And that will be miserable indeed.
We who celebrate the incarnation should be intentional about creating opportunities for real flesh interaction. What ideas do you have for creating more opportunities for this kind of thing in your life?
