We are being oversaturated with negativity. The News, which once was reserved for six and eleven o'clock has now become 24/7, bombarding us with every vile and vicious detail. The online community, from forums to comment sections on articles has become a cesspool for sadists and the most base behavior. People post things they would never be caught dead saying to someone's face. For this reason I think it is important that we learn to speak kind words, not only in person, but in the public cyberspace. There is a time to reprove (2 Timothy 3:16) and to correct people, but not in public form. Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us to go to a brother in private, "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector [a evil doer, to be handed over to devil see]." (Matthew 18:15-17); not to publicly humiliate them in a classroom, chatroom, and comment section of a news article! When we are to speak the Truth, it is suppose to be from a place of love, "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head." (Ephesians 4:15). If you cannot show some measure of kindness to person you correct, affirming them in some manner, your constructive criticism is going to fall on deaf ears, and at the present rate of accusation and name calling in this day and age, there are very few receptive people left. We are called to be kind, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32).
Mastering kind words, weither to affirm someone or in correction, is an art we must learn in this age. King Solomon wrote, "Kind words as sweet like honey, sweet to the soul, and healthy for the body." (Proverbs 16:24). The wisest monarch to ever live also knew full well the power of the tongue, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits." (Proverbs 18:21). To bring that statement into the modern era, I suppose we could say, "life and death is in power of each keystroke, touchpad, text keyboard, and etc." As people are becoming more insistent on writing messages than speaking in person, it is imperative that we as Christians set the tone no matter where we are speaking, even if we aren't speaking with our lips, but with tips of our fingers to an alphabet touchscreen or keyboard. There are plenty of people becoming mouthpieces and finger tips for the Accuser of Brethren, thrashing and tearing people down with their texts, instant messages, emails, Instagram pics, tweets, and beyond. As Christians we are suppose to take our Lord and God's words seriously, "treat people the way you want to be treated." (). In fact, this should be a mantra for us as we navigate the digital world. When you are about to post something, respond to someone with digital text, and etc; think hard, "is this how I want to be written to, is the text I am sending easy for me to sense its meaning but would be opaque and even offensive to another person who can't read my body language, tone, and facial expressions, and would I want to receive this tweet, text, Instagram photo, and email?"
I have been in trenches of cyber world, from forums to twitter, and beyond; and I have seen and been on receiving end of such animosity, adversity, and accusation, even on Christian forums, that I began to wonder if we can't be well behaved, congenial, kind, and speak the truth in love on our own websites, on Christian sites, then how can we expect to do so out there in world wide web? There is a major disconnect between the person and their post, a type of compartmentalization that started with advent of chat rooms and forums (which are consider dinosauroric now); people began to live two lives, one online and one in reality; this splitting and role playing has now spilled over into news articles and etc.; only it seems now the personality that people played is now the real person, as they open digital fire upon people. We forget to easily that you aren't talking to bots, to A.I. (artificial intelligence), or people role playing; you are talking to actual people. Just because there is circular or square photo of a ninja, knight, monster, numeral, and etc.; doesn't mean that isn't a person, no matter that it reads idream705, or some other strange username.
As Christians we have to rise above the minutiae, and start behaving like the Messiah! For did not our LORD tell us to love our enemies?, "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, [f]expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." (Luke 6:27-36 NASB). These words of our God and Savior Jesus Christ aren't meant only for the workplace, for shopping, and public spaces, but for online! The Holy Trinity does not live in time (2 Peter 3:8), and so when Jesus said these words, He knew already that in 21 Century, we would have ability of mass communications and be able to send people messages on smartphones, tablets, watches, computers, and etc.
The time has come for us to utilize kind words, and to keep doing as Christ Jesus commanded, loving one another (John 13:34-35), and loving our enemies too. If we do not, then as the Apostle James says, "For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from good deeds is dead." (James 2:26, James is not talking about faith in Christ and eternal life which is by Grace, he is talking about if your faith does not have any action, cannot be seen by world, the fruit of Christ in you, then people won't see Christ, read the NLT version, it captures the whole context better for James 2). No one will see the love of God, if we hide it under our online self and assail people with posts, texts, tweets, and other typed words without a care for how they will be received, and if it will devastate or hurt the person. What if one unkind word you type is the final straw that makes someone commit suicide? Now I am not saying you forced the pills down their throat, or put the gun in their hand, but you could have been another accusing and bullying voice that added to lifetime of pain. But perhaps that's too extreme, surely most people have a thick skin and can take some jazzing, and harassing, indeed, but then Robin Williams seemed alright to everyone, but he took his life. While it may not have be unkind words that did it, many people recollect and reflect on old scares in their soul from what someone they admired, cared about, respected, and loved said. The Psalmist David said, "May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14). We might rake words of our mouth and substitute tips of our fingers and texts we prepare to post, but the mediations of our heart are where often the most hurtful things we say come forth, for Jesus said, "What goes into someone's mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them," (Matthew 15:11), and "Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them." (Mark 7:15). For inside a person can brew malice, murder, revenge, hatred, cruelty, abuse, and beyond. And what is worse in this day and age, is that people can spew malice and their vitriol without being traced, without having to face those people they have mistreated and hurt. The consequences seem totally gone, at least for now, because when the LORD Jesus Christ returns, He will judge every idle word, "I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless (idle, word they speak, For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matthew 12:36-37), and that includes every typed word! So take heed! Every word you type and say will be reviewed in the Last Judgement! Amen.
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