THE WORDS WE SPEAK

"Let my words and my thoughts be pleasing to you, LORD, because you are my mighty rock and my protector.”  (Psalm 19:14 CEV)

When Abraham Lincoln got angry with someone, he would fire off what he called a “hot letter.” He would set aside the letter until his emotions cooled off. Then, he would read the letter with a cool head. He left many letters unsigned and unsent.

While Abraham Lincoln wrote letters instead of posts on social media, his practice provides a worthy example for us today. If your post deals with a particularly sensitive topic, can it wait until tomorrow? If it can wait a day, save it as a draft and revisit it tomorrow. You may find that you read it with fresh eyes and see that you shouldn’t post it. Or you may see that it would be helpful to people and click “post.” Either way, the longer you can wait before inserting yourself into a conversation, the better.

Christians, we need to remember that we are Christians first. We represent King Jesus and His church. When we speak, it should reflect the priorities and character of our King and His Kingdom. This concern means that we need to take extra care to consider the words we speak online. 

-- Scott Slayton, from his blog “One Degree to Another”

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