Thinking Before You Post

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:1-6 NIV)

With the advent of social media over the past few years, there has been an increase in hubris of those who post their tweets and Facebook statuses, and in the comments on the many blogs.  Many people seem to have trouble filtering their thoughts.  Perhaps the urge to make their point or to say something memorable is just too great to pause and consider what they are typing.  The end result is often a lot of arrogant posts and tweets.

Again, like all areas of life, Jesus followers need to be on their guard. There are many times when I scroll through my Facebook wall, look at Twitter, or read comments on news column posts, I am very tempted to fire off a reply that will set people straight.  But I resist because, for one, I know my comment will likely add more fuel to the fire than extinguish it. Second, I am called to pursue unity and peace.  And, thirdly, I am called to humility.

It is this last reason that I think is most important because it goes to the heart of the issue.  While 10-15 years ago, our opinions were limited to talking with our friends, writing letters to the editor, and posting on message boards with few readers, now we can voice our opinions almost instantaneously to hundreds, thousands, and perhaps even millions if we place the right hashtag at the end of it.  And there is a strong lure to that, one that strokes our egos because our opinions can be out there for the world to see.  

I sense this temptation even as I write and post this devotion every morning.  Thus, I need to check my heart daily as I write.  The truth is we all need to check ourselves before we post online.  What are our real motives and are they aligned with what Paul lays out in this passage?  

Today, before you update your Facebook status or send a tweet, ask yourself this: Are the contents worthy of the calling I have received from the Lord?

© Jim Musser 2017