Google: Search Results

There were an estimated 5,134,000,000 searches per day on Google in 2012.  Over 5 billion people searching for something every single day.  Searching…searching…searching…

It seems many of those people were searching for answers about God and Christianity as well.  The thing about searching on Google is you immediately get some kind of results.  As people searched Christianity the results didn’t come back the way I had hoped they would for the sake of Christ’s bride.  In fact, it was upsetting to say the least. 

If you know anything about how Google works, search results are generated based on what has been previously searched.  In other words, Google is actually working to predict what you are searching based on what others have most commonly searched for previous to your search.  Watch this video to see how Christianity shapes up on Google.

I was left frustrated after watching the video.  I wondered why someone would manipulate a video to show the church in such bad light.  So, I went and did my own investigating mimicking the searches shown in the video.  Much to my surprise, my search results and the results from the video were one in the same.  That struck something in me that was devastating.  It was a painful reality check, and it reminded me of two passages in scripture:  Matthew 7:1-5 and John 13:34-35.

In the first passage, Jesus is saying something rather emphatically about discipleship.  The true disciple shows mercy.  The true disciple forgives because he has been forgiven.  The true disciple shows grace.  True disciples who have been impacted by mercy will exhibit mercy toward others.  Because true disciples have received forgiveness, they will forgive others. 

In other words, to fall into a pattern of judging others is to show that we are not true members of the kingdom.

To judge is to place yourself in God’s place.  Only God has the power to judge.  To be judgmental is to remove God’s authority in the matter.  Interesting Jesus uses this analogy being the son of a carpenter.  Have you ever had a speck of sawdust in your eye?  It is painful and blinding.  You really can’t function or see correctly until you remove it.  Though it is small and hard to find, it is plaguing.  All you really want is someone to carefully help you remove it.  People who are struggling in life don’t need our judgment.  They need someone with steady hands and clear vision to help them restore their vision.  After all, you wouldn’t let someone who is blind try to get something out of your eye or allow a child to go digging in.  People in this world are searching for help as they look for answers.  However, they want those with steady, gentle hands to help them. 

Jesus is saying we need to be self-critical in order to be his hands and feet, the same hands that can carefully help restore the sight of others.  After self-criticism takes place, relationships are based on redemptive empathy rather than condemning detachment.  Our gratitude should be the motivation for our expression of mercy and forgiveness in this world.  The further we move from Christ, the closer we move toward becoming judgmental, harsh, and unhelpful for those who are legitimately searching. 

Isn’t it interesting in the Sermon on the Mount that a passage about worry is right before this passage on judging others?  After telling us not to worry, I’m struck by how much I worry about how others are behaving.  Following this passage is a passage on what we can ask God for.  Shouldn’t we be begging God to intercede in the lives of people who do not know him?  Shouldn’t our heart’s desire be that God gives us steady hands of faith so that we can help others see Him more clearly?

Wonder what the search results would be if people looked in your home?  In your church?  In your youth group?

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35