"Introverts?" - a rebuttal
Originally published July 22, 2021.
The original offending Facebook post.I stumbled on this post from a preacher who horribly misrepresented Matthew 5:47 – in that passage, Jesus simply said, “And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?” You can also read another translation of it in the screenshot, as he was re-sharing it from someone else. But basically, Jesus was saying that greeting or showing kindness and familiarity with someone who is in your trusted circle (friends, family, brethren) is nothing special. And that even those without integrity do the same. Everyone has a circle that they are friendly with. Loved ones. But clearly Jesus wanted his followers to be better than that. To show kindness to even those that disagreed with them or weren’t considered known, maybe an acquaintance or stranger.
But I said the preacher misrepresented the passage. How?
He captioned the verse with simply, “Introverts?”
No, Jesus did not rebuke introverts. The Christian Bible does not condemn introverts as sinners. Is this characterization really a horrible misrepresentation of the verse, as I put it earlier? Yes, I believe so. This gentleman is a preacher, as I noted, and someone I used to know. There’s a song in that. 😉 As a preacher, he has a very public platform. To date, 35 people have liked or loved the post. He’s gotten no criticism on it. Meaning, he just reached at least 35 people with simply suggesting being an introvert was condemned by Jesus himself. And I say suggest because that’s all he did.
Remember, it’s just a simple “Introverts?” that he captioned it with. He didn’t actually say one way or the other whether if it was what that verse meant or not. He just implied it could. And that’s dangerous behavior. And having known this man, I know he’s no idiot. So I say, yes, it’s a horrible misrepresentation. Not an oops. That question mark left himself an out. Deniability. And that’s sad. I’d have more respect if he’d at least put a period at the end of it, so as to make it very clear that’s what he believes. I used to view such behavior as cowardly, and sometimes maybe it is. But now I recognize that it’s often something far more nefarious. It’s deliberate. A purposeful misrepresentation of a verse that sets people down a path they want, even though they don’t believe it themselves.
But what does it mean to be an introvert? Is it only being nice to people you love and who love you back, like he suggests? No.
Here’s a solid explanation:
“The definition of an introvert is someone who prefers calm, minimally stimulating environments. Introverts tend to feel drained after socializing and regain their energy by spending time alone. This is largely because introverts’ brains respond to dopamine differently than extroverts’ brains. In other words, if you’re an introvert, you were likely born that way.” (From: What is an Introvert?)
Further reading:
What is an Introvert? — https://introvertdear.com/what-is-an-introvert-definition/.
A pretty good summation of Matthew 5:47 that’s not my own — https://www.bibleref.com/Matthew/5/Matthew-5-47.html.
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