Recently I was talking to a friend over coffee that I greatly respect. I was sharing some things that were on my heart that was bothering me, and at one point we began talking about some of my blog posts and Facebook statuses; I found myself being humbled at my friends rebuke of a couple of immature and disrespectful posts. I had vented on one of my posts (removed the day of said conversation) in which I had been careful not to mention names, but had been ruthless and cold in other respects. People still knew who I was talking about in the post regardless of whether I put the names in there or not, and I had failed in my attempt to be "sensitive" in how I presented my thoughts. I failed to take my Christian beliefs and ethics and apply it to my everyday life. In addition to this I had done something similar with a Facebook status in which I did mention the name (also, now removed) that was even more rude and disrespectful. At this revelation I apologize to those I have disrespected and offended in my immaturity.
We have a responsibility to one another, even more so if one is a Christian, to be loving and respectful of others. We must seek to display maturity and professionalism when we display things for all the world to see. Facebook is dangerous in that we can be far to bold in our speaking, in a way that we wouldn't if the person was present. In fact it is almost cowardly to post on Facebook what one is unwilling to say to a persons face. Through Facebook there is a break down of privacy and intimacy, both of which are components of life that are extremely necessary to our growth and our stability as human beings. Emotional and mental health demand a certain level of intimacy and privacy.
My belief, my faith, my religion, and my God demand that I bring all of my life under the submission of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God almighty. This means reading my posts twice, and twice more, to make sure that I am displaying Christ-like character and love. What I did was not biblical by any means. I must continually check my heart and my attitude and seek the guidance and moving of the Holy Spirit within me. I must "become all things to all people" by tempering my soul with prayer and meditation so that I will have no malice and bitterness to be poured out into my writings. "Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." So, therefore, I must change my heart, but more importantly I need to seek God to have my heart changed.
Lets all learn to do this, and maybe Facebook, Blogger, Google+, and all those other forms of social media can become a better tool for community and the Gospel and not something that utterly destroys them...
We have a responsibility to one another, even more so if one is a Christian, to be loving and respectful of others. We must seek to display maturity and professionalism when we display things for all the world to see. Facebook is dangerous in that we can be far to bold in our speaking, in a way that we wouldn't if the person was present. In fact it is almost cowardly to post on Facebook what one is unwilling to say to a persons face. Through Facebook there is a break down of privacy and intimacy, both of which are components of life that are extremely necessary to our growth and our stability as human beings. Emotional and mental health demand a certain level of intimacy and privacy.
My belief, my faith, my religion, and my God demand that I bring all of my life under the submission of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God almighty. This means reading my posts twice, and twice more, to make sure that I am displaying Christ-like character and love. What I did was not biblical by any means. I must continually check my heart and my attitude and seek the guidance and moving of the Holy Spirit within me. I must "become all things to all people" by tempering my soul with prayer and meditation so that I will have no malice and bitterness to be poured out into my writings. "Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." So, therefore, I must change my heart, but more importantly I need to seek God to have my heart changed.
Lets all learn to do this, and maybe Facebook, Blogger, Google+, and all those other forms of social media can become a better tool for community and the Gospel and not something that utterly destroys them...
