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To post or not to post
Proverbs 25:17 NIV
Seldom set foot in your neighbor's house— too much of you, and they will hate you.
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Today's world brings us all together - or does it? The internet has made it easy to reach out and touch someone, but in what way are we affecting the people we are reaching? In this world of numerous social media outlets, we are stepping foot in our neighbor's house daily - sometimes several times a day - even though Proverbs (the book of wisdom) warns us not to. How many times a day do we check our social media? How many times a day do we update our status or post a picture or meme? How many times do we post something hoping that certain person will see it and realize they were wrong and they need to apologize? How many times do we insult others in jest? How many times do we boldly declare our rights? How many times do we put down what someone else does or likes in order to build ourselves up? We are no longer simply sharing cute photos and encouraging words occasionally with close friends and family. Social media has evolved into our own personal platform. We are airing all of our opinions and we are doing so with anyone who will listen. We are giving too much of ourselves and we are getting too much of others and hate is ensuing.
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Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.
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A quiet life is God's plan for man. Proverbs 17:28 tells us that even fools are thought to be wise when they choose to remain silent. We do not have to voice every thought we think. We should learn to think twice (or more!) before we speak once. God also warns us to mind our own business. It is to our benefit to avoid the affairs of others. Minding everyone else's business is a full-time position and it has no Spiritual benefits. It wastes our time and it poisons us.
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Many times my mom told me to refrain from speaking if I had nothing nice to say, sadly we have lost sight of that sage advice. We are so desperate to be heard that we do not care how we make someone else feel. Instead of simply voting in private, we feel a need to share all of our political views even though we know it is going to lead to discord. We share shocking news stories without checking our sources. Fake news stories are created to spark controversy and we are falling right into the trap. We are perpetuating the drama.
Social media has also morphed into a fight club. We boldly post our dirty laundry instead of taking care of issues behind closed doors. God has told us to go to the person we have a problem with in private, but many times we see His advice ignored on social media (Matthew 18:15). We take our grievance with another to the court of public opinion and in doing so we are exposing our foolishness (1 Corinthians 6:1-11).
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It is to one's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.
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We can avoid humiliation and embarrassment by avoiding debates, arguments, sensationalism, and the like. Selfishness makes us believe we have to give all of our opinions and we have to have the last word, but that is a foolish way to think.
We are so quick to give our opinions on a variety of subjects even though many times they should be kept to ourselves. My opinion is just that - mine - and although it is permissible for me to share my opinion, it is often not profitable. To post or not to post? That, I believe, is today's question. A question that can be answered in the book of Ephesians (4:29). Is what you are posting helpful for building others up according to their needs? God has given us His plan for peace and harmony and it is found in considering others before self and avoiding officiousness.
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We must see that we have been sidetracked from God's plan for us. Many times we cannot even communicate properly with those who are right next to us because of the internet. This may not be true for you, but if it is, I encourage you to fast from the internet for a period of time and use that time to do something more beneficial. Experience life unplugged and you may never want to go back!