WORDS FROM W.W. June 27, 2015
Social media is awesome in so many ways! We can reconnect with people who we haven’t seen or heard from in years. We can see pictures of folk we’ve grown up with…and be able to see how old they look compared to us…compare the amount of gray, if you will, and the size of our waistlines!
And what can be awesome can also be awful! I’ve been amazed at the things that are said online that people wouldn’t dream of saying in person. There’s like an openness to be condescending since Herbie isn’t in the room with me!
People are much more bold online. Or maybe bold isn’t the right word! Maybe it’s more like “boldly insensitive!”
I find that the ability to listen online is an unrecognized but gracious gift. The patience to hold off on giving my two cents worth is invaluable! Some may say that if I hold off then the insensitively bold will dictate the pace of the race.
It seems like Proverbs has a few nuggets of listening gold that need to sink in a little bit.
“The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.” (Proverbs 10:14)
“Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.” (Proverbs 29:11)
People are quick to speak online and slow to listen. In the Letter of James in the New Testament he emphasizes the reverse of those two…being quick to listen and slow to speak. He adds a third…”being slow to become angry.”
So before you send that comment that dehumanizes the person you differ with…take your fingers off the keyboard for a few moments and watch a Youtube video of babies laughing or cats playing with dogs. It may be the wise thing to do in a world that is often immensely unwise and unkind.
Words from WW Blog 