Good Morning Friends,
This morning I had a random thought about our words and energies and the way we use it all in relation to the dreaded beast of social media.
Much love and more βοΈ,
Glenn || PATREON / BUY ME A COFFEE
|| WORDS ||
This morning I had a thought.
A simple thought.
And the thought is this:
What if.
What if instead of using ...
Our words.
Our strength.
Our knowledge.
Our power.
... AGAINST oppressive powers and structures and systems, what if we (instead) used it FOR the good of others?
Take the world of social media, for instance - what if instead of using our words solely or mainly AGAINST false arguments, rampant misinformation, ideas that ridicule, shame, and outcast ... what if we used our words (even more so) FOR the building up of those whom those arguments, misinformation, and ideas have abused, traumatized, and wounded?
Back in seminary I had a professor who told us that whenever we stand in the pulpit to preach a sermon we should be known more for what we are for than for what we are against ... and so I'm wondering this morning, what might it mean for us to be people who exercise our strength not so much in tearing down and defeating ideas and rhetoric that we take a stand against, but a people who exercise our strength even more so in lifting up those who have been knocked down, torn down, and pushed down by those ideas and that rhetoric?
Are you following me?
Yes, oppressive powers need to be torn down.
Yes, abusive structures need to be taken down.
Yes, we must exercise our strength in an effort to tear down, overtake, and destroy systems and machines that oppress, outcast, and shame.
BUT.
We must also make sure that a significant portion of our strength is reserved to come to the aid or those who have been oppressed, those who have been outcasted, those who have been shamed ... and sometimes I think that in the world of social media it can be much too easy to have our strength sucked dry by the Internet trolls who only come out to fight so that we have very few words in the tank left for the conversations that truly matter, the conversations that will bring life and healing to wounded people.
That's part of why, I think, I've been doing these coffee thoughts every morning. This is the 47th day in a row that we've done them and (for me) they help me harness my words first thing in the morning and start the day off by using them to uplift, encourage, and challenge as opposed to pushing back, tearing down, and demolishing.
I may come across things later that need to be pushed back AGAINST, but using my words FOR the good of others first thing in the morning helps me set the tone for the rest of the day.
And so.
I wonder.
How will YOU use your words today (on social media, in particular)?
I preach this to myself first and foremost, but perhaps it would be a good idea to keep scrolling past that random Gospel Coalition post that Uncle Fred "liked" because, really, although you might have an amazing point to make and great perspective to bring in response to whatever terrible theology that post is spewing ... won't your point and perspective be much more welcomed and appreciated and needed by someone in some deconstructing group that you're involved in? Perhaps your time and energy and words would be much more well spent sharing your thought to someone who really needs to hear it as opposed to someone who will just want to fight with you?
I've been known to fly by The Gospel Coalition page and others and drop some word bombs and so like I said - I am preaching to myself right now ... but I'm realizing that although there's nothing wrong with leaving a comment here and there (because that comment may very well plant a seed in someone's mind who comes across it), my energies are best spent elsewhere.
So, again - how will you, how will I ... how will WE use our words today?