My friend David Hankins is the Executive Director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention.  He has preached at our church several times in the past.  Recently, he wrote a blog entitled: “Be Slow to Blog.”  The title was taken from the Letter of James to the church where James said that we should be “quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger (1:19).”  He referred specifically to being “slow to speak.”  If God tells us to be slow to speak, we really should be slow to blog or post any kind of electronic message.

Electronic messages take on a life of their own.  Like a word, an electronic post, such as email, text messaging, facebook, or twitter, can never be taken back. The Hebrews believed that the spoken work took on life and always came true.  That’s another reason why we should love blessings and hate curses.

Like the slogan by Buzz Lightyear, electronic posts go to “infinity and beyond.”  Maybe we should be a little more careful who our “friends” are and maybe we should be a little slower to post, knowing the power that the new technology has to harm lives and hurt people.

I try to make a few rules for myself about electronic media:

1.   Don’t send anything when you are mad.  Almost everything in life needs time for us to pray and consider.  Shouldn’t Christians pray about all things, especially when we are angry?  Most things in life need a few extra minutes to let “cooler heads prevail.”

2.   Don’t send anything when you are exhausted.  When I get emails sent after midnight, they are almost always very unhappy messages.  A good night’s sleep will cure a world of hurt.

3.   Don’t send anything that you don’t want the whole world to read.  Electronic messages can zip around the world in a few minutes.  They do go to “infinity and beyond.”  You will have to live with what you write.

4.   Don’t send worthless information.  Just because you like it doesn’t mean that others need to read it.

So what should we do?  We should seek to bless the lives of others by kind and considerate interaction of every kind—whether face to face or electronic.  Remember, the warning of Jesus that we will be held accountable to God for every idle word applies to electronic words as well. Our words have to the ability to encourage and to bless. Your kind words filled with love and concern may be just what a friend or family member needs.

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