Practicing John 13:35 On the Internet
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:35)
Women spend more time on the Internet perusing message boards, forums, e-mails, and writing blogs than men according to Internet usage statistics. In this world-wide environment, Christians are a minority. Go to any social bookmarking site such as Technorati or Netscape and search the term “christianity.” Your results will show a great many posts speaking against Christianity and Christians. Just as in life, your behavior and words on the internet will impact these perceptions. Are you practicing “love one unto another,” or are you engaging in heated exchanges encouraged by the anonymity of a fabricated username?
I visit alot of forums because of my writing and other online work. I have watched what I thought was a benign remark quickly spiral out of control because someone took it the wrong way or found some offense, often unintended. Couple this with the removal of normal communication cues such as body language, voice inflection, and immediate feedback, and it is easy to misinterpret comments and posts. My experience is that these online cat fights happen most often when women are involved in the conversation.
Perhaps the emotional nature of women plays a part, or it may simply be a numbers game since there are more women chatting. Whatever the explanation, we as Christian women must pay special attention to whether others know who we are in Christ because of our love. Peppering your posts with round faces in various expressions, known as emoticons, does not guarantee your words are compassionate and caring.
On the Internet, saying “I am a Christian” does not mean anything if your behavior is not Christ-like. Take these steps to ensure that you do not end up engaged in a battle of words:
1. If you are unsure of the tone intended by a post, ask for clarification before answering.
2. Are you reading something into a comment due to your own mood at the moment?
3. Everyone has different passions and pet causes. What matters a great deal to you may seem flippant to someone else. Heated discussion is not going to change that.
4. Turn the other cheek. If you see a conversation getting out of control or feel yourself directing anger toward the other party, leave the discussion.
5. If given an opportunity to witness, do so with the conviction that the person you are witnessing to is also a child of God and is loved, whether that person believes it or not.
Always keep in mind that non-Christians are very quick to pick up on what they perceive as un-Biblical behavior and use it to further their own contempt. Self-defense is not worth losing the chance to plant a seed for God.
christian women, christianity, witness, chat, forums
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