I was reading II Corinthians 10:10 today: "His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing." That text triggered this thought: some of us are very different people "in person" than we are "behind the computer." And I don't think that is healthy or holy.
I'm not just talking about bloggers who write irresponsibly about that which they do not know. I think it's easier to slander someone or spread gossip from the comfortable confines of your computer. Somehow the medium excuses the sin. It doesn't. All it does is a keep a written record of what you've done wrong. I'm not trying to get on a soapbox. I just think communication mediums can be used for good or evil. They can help us grow spiritually or become a spiritual snare.
To redeem an old saying: be careful little thumbs what you text. That goes for blogging, twittering, and emailing too! Keep it righteous! After all, God is blind copied (BCC) on everything we write!
I'm not just talking about bloggers who write irresponsibly about that which they do not know. I think it's easier to slander someone or spread gossip from the comfortable confines of your computer. Somehow the medium excuses the sin. It doesn't. All it does is a keep a written record of what you've done wrong. I'm not trying to get on a soapbox. I just think communication mediums can be used for good or evil. They can help us grow spiritually or become a spiritual snare.
To redeem an old saying: be careful little thumbs what you text. That goes for blogging, twittering, and emailing too! Keep it righteous! After all, God is blind copied (BCC) on everything we write!
17 Comments:
Well said Mark! It really is easier to libel people from behind a computer (which, by the way says a whole lot about our character), but at the end of the day we do more harm to ourselves in the process as we become more and more desensitized to people's hearts and feelings.
Well said, Mark. Social networking can be anything BUT social at times. More often it's a curtain behind which many people think they are hiding their true self. In reality, they are showing it. And it's not pretty.
Well said, Mark. Social networking is anything BUT social at times. Many people use it as a curtain behind which to hide their true self. However, it actually uncovers their hearts and often, it's not pretty!
Wow, well said and much needed to be said. We are infact many times two very different people the one who writes and the one the world sees.
AND... considering the text (the Bible text) you used, it seems that some bloggers and twitterers appear much smarter in their blogs than they do in person. Most would say that's a good thing, but I don't necessarily agree. Waxing eloquently in the blogosphere to create a false persona in order to be liked is as disturbing to me. I understand putting your best foot forward, but don't quote Buechner in your blog and then when I ask you about it later say, "who's that"? It seems like a lie to me.
Scott,
Jesus called the Pharisees "white washed tombs." I think some bloggers probably fall in that category. It's all blog and no life or ministry or fruit to back it up.
I think we all have to look at ourselves in the mirror and make sure our blogs are authentic to who we are and who Christ is.
Mark
AMEN! Thanks so much for the 2 Cor. passage. I've never put it into that context before. Very good stuff.
Hey Mark, great article. We need to be consistent both in the world wide web and in church. There is so much out there that people can immediately tell the life style you have just by looking at your comments and pictures.
I think that last line; "God is blind copied (BCC) on everything we write!" reminds me that I should only sin when God is not looking.
Mark, I love how your books are really an extension of your verbal speaking style. When reading them I can imagine listening to a message at Ebs!! I like and agree with your post that we cannot hide a facade behind a blog, texting or e-mail, I think e-mail and good ole fashioned letter writing provide a unique opportunity to present our thoughts or criticisms more clearly and concisely than one-on-one conversations allow. This allows someone to appear more erudite in written form than in oral form. As long as the individual does not compromise their integrity in this respect I see nothing wrong with this.
Mark, thanks. God used those words to bring conviction to me today of something I did a year and a half ago.
Perfection! Love this.
So true Mark. Thanks for reminding us of the weight of our words...both spoken and written.
Mark,
This blog goes in line with something I experienced yesterday that was entirely heartbreaking. I was looking on youtube for a video of Haiti news coverage to post on Facebook to get folks to donate... Anyway I started reading some of the comments left about Haiti videos on youtube. It seemed like every prayer announcement or request was attacked. Most of the peoples responses were so littered with hatred I was shocked. Part of me felt sorry for these people's present state of mind and their soul, the other part was angry that such words could be uttered about our Creator. I'm still having a hard time getting past it all. Thanks for the post.
Mark,
You've made some fine points here that expose the sins that we are ALL guilty of.
Your final points are all true but they still leave us in our sins.
You said, "Somehow the medium excuses the sin. It doesn't. All it does is a keep a written record of what you've done wrong."
and
"God is blind copied (BCC) on everything we write! "
This is soooooo true and this is not good news.
May I suggest that the gospel should have the last word here.
“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13–14)
May our great God and Savior Jesus Christ Grant us mercy and forgiveness for our great many sins so that on the last day all of the emails that God's been BCC'd on would not stand against us but be nailed to the cross with big blood red letters stamped on them that say "Forgiven! Debt Paid in Full!"
I love it.
God isn't just BCCed. He deletes them when we confess our sin.
Mark
Wow. This is powerful. Just yesterday, I hurriedly posted a comment on someone's blog and later on regretted it. However, thankful, for some reason...it was not moderated and my heart felt at peace. Talk about carelessness with our words. I learned my lesson. I will not be quick to pass judgement. Thank you
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