Share what we love

By Rob Hurtgen

Sometimes I wonder, what would the social media feed of the great men and women of history be like? What type of photos would Theodore Roosevelt publish? Would Hemingway dominate Twitter? What would Jesus do on Instagram? Would Susan B. Anthony Snapchat?

The tools of social media that rest in the palm of our hands have inspired revolutions of the self. Elevated some to personal greatness. And have lulled many into a vortex of lost hours viewing cat videos. We cannot help but draw a thousand of our closest friends to a meme that both made us laugh and challenged our thinking.

We love to share our thoughts, our emotions, and our lives with others. We love to share what we love. We receive great pleasure telling others, "I found this worthy, I couldn't wait to share it with you." C.S. Lewis writes in his Reflections on the Psalms, "I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation." Our joy is only complete when we both praise and share what we love the most.

What many of us do not realize is that at the core of loving something, and telling others of the joy and pleasure we have received, is worship. The Bible in Psalm 22:22 says, "I will praise your name to my brothers and sisters; I will praise you in the assembly."

Notice the compulsion in this verse. I will. The psalmist does not waver. Is not squeamish. Like the late Tom Petty they "won't back down." The psalmist cannot sustain his response. We cannot contain what must be shared.

The word "Praise" here comes from a term meaning to recount, to retell. The Psalmist is not offering praise for what he hopes might happen. Praise is a response to what has happened. Sharing what transpired. Applauding what occurred. While we may dream about what might be, we only celebrate what we have known.

Lastly, Psalm 22:22 reminds us how we cannot contain what we love. The psalmist offers praise in the company of their brothers and sisters. We share what we love. Love that is not vocalized is a dream wearing the mask of desire.

We share what we love in the hopes that those we love will love it with us.