I am very excited and grateful to be able to introduce a new guest blogger here at RTC for today’s Tech Tuesday post.
Karin Fendick responded to my call last week for guest bloggers to help me out while I am struggling a little and her post fits perfectly into this bi-weekly spot. I’ll let Karin introduce herself in her own words:
Karin (HisFireFly) is a sold out disciple of Jesus Christ learning more each day what it means to abide in Him. She desires to walk in radical obedience to His voice and prays that her life brings glory to The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.
Karin and her beloved husband live in rural Manitoba with their dog Faith and various barn cats on 20 beautiful acres the Lord has provided for them.
Stop by for a visit at Flickers of a Faithful FireFly http://hisfirefly.blogspot.com Karin’s personal blog about Jesus, love, prayer, and life in rural Canada. You can also find her blogging about marriage at www.exemplifyonline.com
Think Before We Tweet:
When I participated in 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.
I agree. As someone who writes and thinks about slowing down in this fast-paced world, I urge people to slow down and think about what they're about to publish, be it via blog, FB or Twitter. (Or even in the comments of another blog post.) Thanks for the reminder of the power of the tongue and how quickly our words can change the course of our lives, for better or for worse.
With the convenience of it all, it's easy to spout noise… just as we often do when we speak. I have to constantly remind myself, "Is this serving others?"
There are a number of "What Would Jesus Tweet" type accounts (most are lame in my opinion), but I see where they're coming from. It would be interesting to see what Jesus would do online. Would He be more about quoting proverbs for us, linking to wonderful material around the web, conversating, what? Interesting to think about.
-Marshall Jones Jr.
I think Jesus would be direct and honest. He certainly didn't win any popularity contests. He told it like it is.
good words, karin.
this was refreshing to read …
Good thoughts Karin! I remember seeing a couple separate on Facebook. It was sad seeing their unfiltered hurt, especially when they were trying to get back together, Facebook became an issue of contention.
Great words of wisdom, Karin!
Thanks for the feedback y’all! And I pray that our lips, tongues and fingers would be submitted to Him.
Peter, thanks so much for the opportunity to share here!
You're welcome!
It amazes me the things some people will post on Facebook – and their subsequent disbelief when it backfires on them!