I’ve been struck again and again recently how our online words can be so hurtful and lacking in compassion. It’s so hard reading things written by Christians and directed at other Christians, seemingly lacking the love of Jesus. Not a great witness to the world. I wrote this for last weekend’s BBC Sussex 60 second sermon, here in the full version – you can listen to it online in a shorter one (at about 1.54.30 in). It’s based on Proverbs 25:11.
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver, so a wise man once said –
a picture that speaks of beauty, compassion, wisdom, flawless timing – all perfectly wed.
Of valuable fruit, precious nourishment carefully feeding another’s soul,
perhaps a world where hate is left unspoken and the nightmare of fairytales is the only home for a troll.
Are we so far from that fairytale dream?
In this era of communication, despite such isolation, our words are breeding
out of control, filled with hate and self promoting expectation.
Words scattered and self seeded with such abundant flagellation,
ripping at our hearts, inciting our minds, lacing our souls with both hate and yet adulation
of digital heroes and villains, their self caricatured guises building their dark influence ever more bitter.
But what would Jesus do? we used to ask. Would he be on insta, Facebook, Snapchat, even Twitter?
Would his words just be drops in an ocean of influencers, increasing self promotion, building brand and personal devotion?
But we ARE the influencers. Should our brand not be Jesus? Our copyrite scriptural, our influence spiritual?
Solomon’s proverb says a word in the right season, in the right time, and in Godly part is like a golden apple placed into a silver heart.
Jesus spoke truth and love in equal measure, how can our words be such precious spiritual treasure?
It doesn’t have to take much for our words to take divine position: think before we speak, pray before we tweet and focus our status on our wordy mission,
being people who love, building bridges, making peace, even if our minds are in division.
So let’s pray every day, in every stroke of a key, every character posted, every word on our lips,
that God would grow golden apples from our pips…
2 Comments
Martin Horton
September 10, 2018 at 10:24 amAbsolutely gorgeous! Powerful, poetic and timely. The line ‘ripping at our hearts’, ouch! Loved the troll reference too. May this make many think and may golden apples truly grow!
Blessings,
Martin
Jules
September 23, 2018 at 8:13 pmThanks Martin! Bless you, Jules