07 July 2009

Think before we Tweet

Last month at the A Woman Inspired - Online Ministry Conference I learned much about social networking. I spend more time checking Facebook and Twitter now, perhaps too much time, but that's an issue for a different post.

What's been on my heart today is how quickly we expose ourselves with little "tweets" and "status updates". When we hit the keyboard we somehow seem to think we're just sitting talking with a few friends. I sensed the Lord saying "Don't you realize the world is watching? When your fingers type, your tongue speaks"

I felt led to dig into what the Word has to say about the "tongue"

"The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly." Proverbs 15:2 NIV

"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs 18:21 NIV

"If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless." James 1:26 NIV

When we call ourselves Christians we are representing our Lord in all that we do and all that we say. Jesus has called us to be "in the world" but not like the world. We are different, marked by His seal and changed by His love. If in anger we type off a nasty remark, do we sound like Jesus? When we type words of fear, seeing the worst possible outcomes in our situations, do we sound like a people who have faith in a God who holds our future? Shouldn't we instead be typing light into the darkness?

I pray to be like the psalmist David, the one God called a man after His own heart, who wrote: "My tongue will speak of your righteousness and of your praises all day long." Psalm 35:28 NIV

May all of our words, (whether they be thought, spoken or typed) bring glory to the only One Who is worthy of glory and honour and praise. May our words offer salt to lives that have lost their flavour. May our words offer the hope of living water to a thirsty world. As people peek into the little snips we leave online, may they a see a clear reflection of the One Who calls us His own.
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9 comments:

Kelly @ Wisdom Begun said...

What a true post this is! Thank you for the reminder to remain Godly in ALL things, even twitter. :-) I have appreciated your twitter friendship and I know I have much to learn from you.

God bless!

you gotta wonder said...

Right on! I felt the spirit through your tweets this afternoon. I know God is "listening" to our twitter updates. Also - we're members of the community of faith. Through our tweets we can lift each other up, or bring each other down. Thank you for lifting me up today. I definitely needed that.

Molytail said...

When we type words of fear, seeing the worst possible outcomes in our situations, do we sound like a people who have faith in a God who holds our future? Shouldn't we instead be typing light into the darkness? .....

Oh you have no idea how perfectly timed this for my life. Thank you!

QuietMom said...

Very well said!

Shannon said...

This was good. Thanks for sharing it with me today. :)

Wendy said...

Whether we are on FB or Twitter we have to show the world we are His daughters. We can influence the world one tweet at a time!

Anonymous said...

i am always trying to be as sincere , as possible with my tweets,The psalmist is my example,he talks about his frustrations,as much as his glorious moments ,i thnk that it is good to remain as accessible a possible,people have to be able to relate also to us ,to our strength when we talk about the bible and god but also to our weaknesses .frustations when we talked about the way we do every day life..;-)

WhiteStone said...

Excellent reminder of how visible we are in the net. May we be wise and may we give glory to God in all that we say and do.

Courtney said...

Great post! It can be easy something to forget that "We are different, marked by His seal and changed by His love," especially when we spend so much time in the world.