Social media. Yikes. It can be such a blessing but boy, oh boy, can it ever be a curse. Recently I was witness to an online battle that, like a car wreck, I just couldn't turn away from. It's crazy to see how easily words typed can turn in to an attack. Would these same words be used if in person? I pray not! Then why, why, why, can we be so mean?
We hear a lot about school bullies that take their nastiness to the internet. We've seen the devastation it causes young people when others relentlessly spew hatred at them. (Just this morning I read about a 10 year old girl who took her own life. 10?!) It's so wrong.
It's also wrong for adults to do the same. In the Navy there is a way of doing things, it's called using the chain of command. If you have an issue work your way from the bottom to the top - go from one level to the next if nothing is done. Words hurt people. Words typed, for all the world to see, hurt people.
God's word holds true to the virtual tongue as much as the literal, does it not? Here is what I pray to hold to. Here is what I pray to teach my children.
Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. Proverbs 21:23
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1
And ultimately, learning from what I witnessed online:
Protect them, oh God, and may they do no harm to others.
My girls, 6 years ago.
Okinawa, Japan
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