Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but
only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that
it may benefit those who listen.
Ephesians 4:29
Today my heart is heavy for the lost world, but I feel while
I am in a place of sorrow and loss for those who have not yet professed Jesus
as their Lord and Savior, I want to get something else out which has been
bothering me for a while.
The verse I referenced above has been an important life
verse to me for several years. I have considered getting a tattoo on my wrist
just to remind me every second of every day what it means. Yes, it’s that
important. Yes, it is something I mess up daily. Paul wrote this in his letter
to the church at Ephesus, they were to be living examples of the love of
Christ. They were to set themselves apart, to show the world they were different.
The same text applies to us now in present day. I’m sure if Paul were here now
he’d have a LOT to say about social media!
How often are we as
Christians judged by what comes out of our mouths? All the time! In fact, ask
most people who despise religious people or Christians why, and most of the
time it will be because of what they hear us say.
Words are very powerful. In the past five years social media
has exploded. Society has changed because of it. Social media can be a powerful
tool and used in a positive way. It can promote love; it can share news of joy.
It can also be used to spread hate and destroy lives.
Recently I have been puzzled by the actions of a few who
profess boldly to be Christians but their written words have displayed quite
the opposite. It’s heartbreaking to see my fellow believers whom I love destroy
what is good by their words. Do not get
me wrong, I am not judging. I am deeply saddened and puzzled. I believe social
media and public forums serve a purpose, but the purpose is not to tear down. I urge those who are struggling to resolve
bitterness in a private way, either through prayer or private conversations and
resolutions, and examine the motive behind social media posts.
Brothers and sisters we are
judged by society in our words and actions especially in public forums. We
can’t profess to live for God’s Glory then spit in His face by our words. I’m
not perfect and I don’t profess to be. This was profoundly on my heart and I
felt it needed to be written.
1 Corinthians 13
New International Version (NIV)
13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not
have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If
I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do
not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I
possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain
nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It
does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love
does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It
always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there
are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will
be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For
we know in part and we prophesy in part,10 but when
completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When
I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a
child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For
now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to
face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully
known.
13 And now these three remain: faith,
hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.