What would Jesus "like?"

One of my favorite little features of facebook is the elegantly simple “like” button which can be clicked for any post or comment. First, it doesn’t say “agree,” which is important since you can “like” an expression without quite endorsing the view it’s offering. Second, it doesn’t have a non-positive counterpart, almost as if Mark Zuckerberg’s grandmother reminded him that silence is better than certifying negativity.

As someone who puts a lot of stuff on my pages, I learned early on that “likes” have a seductive appeal. Precisely because it’s so nice to get them, especially several of them, it can become quite difficult to resist interpreting their lack as a discouraging form of silent feedback.

But in realizing this, I had a shift in my own behavior. See, as a “critic,” I used to be cautious (perhaps stingy) with my “likes” so as to preserve their value when bestowed from on high, at least until I realized how ridiculously pompous and selfish that was.

If “likes” made people happy and encouraged them, I decided to “like” as much as possible. The idea of being generous with my affirmation, especially when it costs me nothing at all, suddenly seemed like a Gospel obligation. If people really are needy for encouragement, what sort of Grinch would I be for not giving it to them as freely as I possibly could?

The only drawback in proclaiming this is that now people will realize how little time I spend reading on facebook, which is the only reason I don’t “like” as much as I otherwise would.