'A word fitly spoken'

 Christians should show love on social media

11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

12 As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
13 As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters.
(Proverbs 25: 11-13)

This morning, I read the blog post Drunken Speech by Kyle Borg posted at Gentle Reformation. The post is directed toward Christian leaders, but it is relevant to all of us, in my opinion, especially now as we experience political upheaval in the United States, which sadly is affecting the Church.

As Christians, we are ambassadors for Christ. But lately we’ve become cheerleaders for our favorite political team and thrown off all caution to the wind when we engage on social media. I have no problem with Christians expressing their beliefs and political opinions, but we must remember not to demean or trample on those who disagree with us.

I recently had a Facebook friend call a pastor demonic and a liar because the pastor rightly called out the abuses in our immigration practices (note that I wrote practices - not laws or policies.) The person maligning the pastor then proceeded to “unfriend” me because I disagreed with his reckless comments.

I’ve also had to unfollow and unfriend pastors who are Donald Trump supporters due to their flippant comments on posts on my timeline that question the practices of the current administration.

Friends, this ought not be how the world sees us. We are squabbling like mere children over a worldly, immoral man and his administration as though there is no love among us for each other.

But what does our Lord tell us?

“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:35 KJV)

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12 ESV)

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Dear Father in Heaven,

Please have mercy upon your people in America. We’ve forgotten how to show love to each other. We no longer practice the Golden Rule. Instead, we call each other names and treat others as though they do not bear your image, but are mere objects to deride, humiliate and possibly turn away from the Gospel due to our hateful words.

Please forgive us our sin and lead us back to the cross. Please fill our hearts with compassion, empathy and love.

In Lord Jesus Name, I pray, amen.