Clearing the Stars from My Sk(eyes)
In the piece just prior to the last (Not the Sneetch of Record), I shared my frustrations with the partner program and all the stars cluttering up my screen.
Part of the problem is myself. Part of me hates partiality and favoritism, and rightfully so since I identify as Christian.
1 Timothy 5:21 (NIV) warns against favoritism:
I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.
James 2:1–4 (TPT) continues in this vein, with an added warning about partiality and favoritism based on wealth or privilege:
My dear brothers and sisters, fellow believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ — how could we say that we have faith in him and yet we favor one group of people above another? Suppose an influential man comes into your worship meeting wearing gold rings and expensive clothing, and also a homeless man in shabby clothes comes in. If you show special attention to the rich man in expensive clothes and say, “Here’s a seat of honor for you right up front!” but you turn and say to the poor beggar dressed in rags, “You can stand over here,” or “Sit over there on the floor in the back, then you’ve demonstrated gross prejudice among yourselves and used evil standards of judgment!
In a way, the partner program started as a good idea. Having the people who use the platform invest and have a voice is a right motive and direction. However, in leaning toward money as the only source of investment, the platform has gone the way of so many politicians and news media in our country; only the wealthy (or financially stable enough) who pay can have a voice.
It doesn’t matter if you have stars or not. Please do continue to follow my writing. Continue to lend your thoughts and constructive criticisms.
As for what and whom I choose to follow, I dread pre-sharing this. I fear being perceived and (type) cast as the great dragon or the whore of Babylon from Revelation, particularly the dragon of Revelation 12:3–4a (AMPC) (as I was during some of my Facebook friend list purges):
Then another ominous sign (wonder) was seen in heaven: Behold, a huge, fiery-red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven kingly crowns (diadems) upon his heads. His tail swept [across the sky] and dragged down a third of the stars and flung them to the earth.
I am sorry, but to make my time on this platform worthwhile, I am going to have to do a review and purge. Most with stars will be swept away (there are exceptions: Roy for being the Charles Schultz of the internet, Sravani Saha for being the internet’s response to Paul Harvey, and a few others).
The hope is to make room for other voices, those who choose to keep their work open and free for the sharing (Indira Reddy, thanks for the response and the explanation, I loved it; kurt gasbarra, I have to figure out how to add you back because you post too frequently for this old buzzard).
