Beyond the Hashtag #5

Dropping a heart emoji takes zero effort. Real love takes sweat, sacrifice, and showing up when it actually counts.

Welcome to The Truth Unpacked, the podcast. Today's episode challenges you to drop the performance and make love a verb. We explore what happens when you stop cheering from a safe distance and start stepping in to help carry others' heavy burdens.

Let us break down the clear difference between performative empathy and authentic connection. We focus on actionable faith, showing you exactly how to practice real, sacrificial love in your everyday life. You will discover practical ways to get your hands dirty, quiet your inner anxiety through selfless service, and build truly meaningful relationships. We move past saying the right things and focus entirely on doing the right things.

Join us as we learn to live truthfully and align our daily actions with our deepest values. Subscribe to The Truth Unpacked on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite listening app. Leave a review to let us know how you are putting love into action, and visit our website for more resources to help you build a stronger foundation.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Do you know what it feels like to have someone like your post or repost your post? There's a genuine emotion that comes with that. Whenever you're on social media and you're strolling and you see someone like or repost your post, especially if it's someone famous, it really sense an emotion helping you. And then down that line, we can start thinking that those people actually care about us. They are watching us. You will be surprised to know that sometimes when people repost your posts or like your posts, that was just a one-time event. Yes. It doesn't mean that you're on their mind consistently. It doesn't mean that, you know, they care about you and they will come back and see what you're doing. That was just a one-time event. In today's digital world, there are so many one-time events happening that because of that we may lose what it means to really care. And we are in danger as believers in believing that what we do online, liking and commending, is just enough for us to show real authentic love. But is it welcome to the choose and pack? I'm your host, Sarita Carnetson, and I'm so excited to use Baby Could Choose to unpack some of the things that's going on into our life today. Especially today in the world digital divider. We are to see so many things into our life, but it affects us personally, it also affects us spiritually. And so today we are going to look at how we see real unauthentic love into the world. Especially someone changed their profile to represent some of the things that's going on into the world, or they change their profile because they want to show that they care about a current event. That's awesome. But what happened two weeks later when they changed their profile again, right? So in this world of digital ride, we must be careful if we are a believer, because we are in danger in believing that that's enough for us to show real genuine love. But today we're going to see what the biblical definition of that real love says. We are going to be looking at the book of John, first John chapter 3, verses 18 to 20. But hold on. Before we even get into this, let me give you a brief background here. Yes, there was two women, two elders that make everything become about themselves that the church began to divide. And so John is calling them out. Real love. Come on. So though there were no social media existed, the same kind of love, a struggle of showing real and authentic love existed back in biblical time. But we are talking about modern time today. I don't know if you have noticed it, but lately it's so hard to tell if love is real or if love is fake. You can't just get all that feeling from your social media post. Someone putting a comment or a like should not let you automatically feel, ooh, that person cares. Welcome to a culture where we are living in a wear performative empathy is way better than really caring. But let's not lose hope. We are still able to bring back some of those love today. And there are some people in this world who genuinely love one another. How do they do that? Let's look at what the scriptures say. Reading from 1 John chapter 3, and we're reading verses 18 to 20. It says, Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other. Let us show the truth by our action. Our action would show that we belong to the truth, so that we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings. And he knows everything. The scripture is showing us what real love is. And that first one tells us merrily that let's not just say we love each other. Let us show it by our action. When we get caught up in social media and the digital divide, when we post our feelings, um, our care for someone, that's good, but we also have to put it into action. How do you put a social media post into action? You can't, right? It just becomes a comment and then we are living in a tent where we are feeling that person's comment is enough. Like for example, someone lost their family member and you put on their post, I am so sorry for your loss, or my condolences. Is that enough? I don't think that should be enough. I think the greatest way for us to show how much we love that person would be to show up at the funeral, be there to them, offer them support. There is a limitation when it comes to digital world. Let us not depend on it to be the place where we can show our most care and concern. Jesus did not sit up on the cloud and grab his phone and text. Alright, I'm gonna work and then being forgiven. No, he came down to this head to show how much he loved us. He shows the biggest action of all. And we have to be mindful so we don't get so caught up in just going to social media and showing how we care for someone, but we're actually doing it in person. I had to catch myself once. Um, a few years ago, I remember if somebody's going through something and I go on Facebook and I will look at it and then I will say, I am praying for you. And the Holy Spirit had to convict me. Because after I post that I ain't praying for that person, I don't go back and pray for that person. So it literally makes me out to be a liar. So now instead of doing that, I write the actual prayer or I pray for the person in secret, or I call them up and says, How can I pray for you? Sometimes operating outside of a digital world gives us more authentic, genuine love than it will inside of the digital world. In these verse, also I noticed in verse 18 and 19, both of a time, John said, first he said, right down here, let us show the truth by our action. And then up at the top, he said, Our action will show in verse 19. He said, Our action will show that we belong to the truth. That word again. Alright. So John is going on and on about the truth here. He is not talking the difference between dishonest and real truth. What John is saying is the real truth, which is Jesus Christ, he represents what is real, he represents what genuine love means. And so, in order for us to show the truth, that is, to be the people God called us to be, we have to put it in action and not just in word. We have to act out showing these people that we genuinely love them. We also have to show that we belong to the truth. Verses 19 said that we belong to the truth. If we belong to Christ Jesus, it's required for us to put our action out there so people can know what's genuine love is. In verses 20, it says, even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feeling and he knows everything. So all of this, being a line and so forth, you may feel guilty like I did for not praying for that person. But God is mooding our feelings, He sees our genuine desire to do something real, and that's who we are. When we put those coming on social media, it's because we genuinely care for those people. But the digital world is just bringing us to a place where we truly forget that we can go beyond it. Let us not get so caught up in hashtag and digital world that we forget that we also can show genuine, real, authentic love in action. Let's not get so caught up in it that we forget what the real love is like. This doesn't mean something big. It doesn't mean we have to go and sit down and talk to people for a long time. And some of us are introverts and don't want to do that. But this scripture shows that the fight to keep love real and authentic, it knows no space and no time. It's been going on for a long, long time. And it will keep going on because we who are human will use whatever resources available to us to show our love for one another. And we do care. We do care. When we put out pray for you, when you put I'm so sorry, those feelings are genuine. The danger is leaving it there. I want to just take a moment and go back to that last verse, verses 20. So again, that's first John chapter 3, verses 20. It said, again, even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feeling and he knows everything. I wanted to go back there because there is some real um there is some real digital compassion that's exhausting, or you can get exhausted from showing compassion so much, alright, or not showing enough. I think sometimes we gotta be mindful, you know, that and remember we are human. We are human, we can't do everything. Um I remember once when someone lost their family member, and I went and I posted that I'm so sorry to hear, but I didn't really look at the time on the date that it was post. Woo But say, you know, after it, you know, it's not all the time you can see the time on the date this post was put up. But I remember saying, going to the post and saying, I'm sorry for your loss, right? And then found out that it was almost a week ago since that person lost their family member. But nobody called me, nobody told me. I had to go to Facebook to find that out. And I felt so guilty. Like I could have done so much more. I could have moved from just saying I'm sorry for your loss, attain the funeral and be there. That guilt that I feel, that's normal. It's like compassion that you have, but you feel that you can't do enough with it, right? I mean, there's a whole global war going on. You can't do enough of it. So when you feel guilty, I just want to remind you that God knows your feelings. He knows you care, he knows you love that person, he knows you want to give more or do more, alright? And so you don't have to feel guilty. What you can do is take steps to move from beyond your guilt and put all of that into action. We are human beings, but we can get caught up in the digital divide and forget that our love can go way beyond social media and online. Also, fake love speaks so loud on a social media or public platform, but we want those same kind of love that we are trying to send to be real. And that does not mean that real authentic love no longer exists, but because it does, we seek to use whatever resource we can to get to people. So I want to challenge you this week. I want to challenge you to do something completely different. Before you post into some grieving person post that I care or I'm so sorry, call them up. It's just simple. If you know their number, give them a call. Now, if this is a total stranger, you don't know their number, maybe write something really nice and pop a card into their DM. That's taking action, even though it is still online. But whatever you can to do the chance to do so, reach out to them. A second way that you can take action is to pray. I found that so helpful. Sometimes I am strolling through my phone and a total stranger is going through something, and my heart just was so set with compassion for that person. I don't know that person, so I can't call that person up. It's just a social media post, right? But you know what? I put in action by praying. I just take the person's name and I pray for that person. I stay on that post and pray over my phone. I pray for their situation that they're going to. I just prayed and it makes me feel so good. I feel like when I pray over that total stranger post, it gives me more encouragement than when I just go in and say, I'm sorry for your loss, I am praying for you. Or what it coming is. My action in praying was more authentic. And so that's the second thing. Pray. Pray for the person, generally bring their name and situation to God so that God can intervene. Your prayer is allowing their name to reach the divine. And so that was the second thing. Remember, the first thing is take action. You can take action by calling them up instead of coming. The second thing is praying, and the third and final thing is that seek to make it more than just a digital action. Seek to do something for one person every week in your community. Physically, yes, go to the supermarket, open the door for someone, let someone feel special, pray for someone who you're passing by and seeing looking unhappy. Maybe you can generally ask that person, are you doing okay? So each week, take one action, a big action, just one. You don't have to do a whole lot. Take one action. Why? Because your faith will grow, it will allow you to grow closer to God, and you are doing exactly what Christ wants you to do. Over and over and over again, Christ reminded us that He is about love, nothing else. He said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as it said. But most importantly, oh my goodness, one of my favorite verse that I have on the stone there to remind me, to remind you is Philippians 2, 5 verses 5. It says you must have the same attitude that Christ has. And so the same way that he sacrificed and gave his life for us, we sometimes have to make small sacrifices for other people, especially those who drive us up before. Take one small action this week so that you can pour into them and show genuine love. And as you read the scripture, you remember something that your life is more than just what is on the digital the digital phone. It's more than what's on your phone, it's also what you do in person. And I want to say this for the first thing as you are being read, also be present. Don't just be with someone where you don't have your phone. You just sit and talk to someone where you don't have your phone, don't check your phone for a couple of minutes. Just be there. Be present. I've had many people tell me how they spend time with a friend who's no longer there and they're so sorry that they weren't there for them. You can be there for them by being present. It doesn't have to be all day. Just an hour or 30 minutes of listening and being present is mind-blowing. So just remember, authentic love, it goes beyond the scream. It's beyond your comment, it's beyond your word. It's hacking in love, genuine love, is doing just what our word says we will do in public, in person, physically. Your fate grows when you take the step to be physically ensuring someone that you love them. And so as we close this podcast today, I'm going to just close in prior for all of us. Heavenly Father, I thank you for your words to guide us and to lead us. I thank you for your divine revelation of what genuine love are. I pray for all who is praying with me right now. May you grant us an opportunity this week to show our love in person. Grant us an opportunity to step beyond the digital divide and to show the truth about what love is into the world. We thank you for choosing us to be the one who can show the world what love is. May you empower us to work with you this week so that we can do everything that Christ has called us to do. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen and amen. I thank you for joining me today. And if this episode speaks to you or you know someone who wants a reminder of someone who just not just wants a reminder, but is exhausted or feeling guilty for not showing enough love. Share this with them and help them to get to that place where they understand genuine love. Until next time, keep asking, keep seeking, and keep unpacking attitude. God bless you.