Facebook Dialogue

If Facebook was not around we would never have had the opportunity to explore such friendships.

Luke 12:1-21

Reference:  v.3  What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.  (NIV Bible)

Explore:   A friend and I were chatting the other day about Facebook.  We were saying that while some people we know were adverse to the networking internet site, we actually really loved it.  We had found that some relationships with long distant friends had actually deepened due to our Facebook connections.  If Facebook was not around we would never have had the opportunity to explore such friendships.  However, we both agreed that there was definitely a darker side to Facebook – and all internet dialogue for that matter.  Due to people being able to communicate to you without being in front of your face, we had both discovered that people were much more likely to make harsher comments via the internet than they would if they were speaking to you in person.  People we hardly knew would feel comfortable making judgment calls on areas of our lives in which they had very little knowledge.  Although these people were making harsh calls with limited understanding, it was hard not to take some of their words to heart.  While we were keen to keep Facebooking to maintain the positive relationships we did have to be careful about the darker side that would rear its ugly head every now and again.

Application:  Jesus instructs His followers to be careful what they say.  Whether they are said behind closed doors, proclaimed on the mountaintops or typed onto a website we should be conscious of the power of our words.  We can often be very quick to throw out a harsh word and not consider the impact it may have on those around us.  It’s so quick and easy to do however the damage can be truly great.

Prayer:  Lord, you mention that our tongues can be like a double-edged sword.  May we be conscious of what we say today.  Amen.

Be mindful of your words today.  How can you phrase your words differently so they build up rather than tear down?

Luke