Why You Can’t Use the Smiley Emoji Any More

By: Sam Chan

The smiley emoji no longer means what it used to mean.

If you’re a person over 30, the smiley emoji says that you’re friendly.

But if you’re under 30, the smiley emoji says you’re passive-aggressive.

On the outside it says: “I like you”; but on the inside it says: “I hate you.”

So how can we ever know what a person is really saying?

Words and symbols are not enough. It’s actions that count.

That’s why Jesus says “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” And then Jesus acts on his words by dying for us.

The cross might be a symbol of love. But it’s only a symbol of love because of Christ’s action on that cross.

And just like the smiley emoji changed its meaning, Jesus forever changed the cross’s meaning from a symbol of shame to a symbol of love.

John 15:13
Romans 5:8

About the Author: Sam Chan is a theologian, preacher, author, evangelist, ethicist, cultural analyst and medical doctor.

Article supplied with thanks to Espresso Theology.