As you all know, if you follow me at all, I get hundreds of emails every week. Some are for prayer, and although many of those do not get answered, Dennis and I read and pray for each one.
Most of the other emails are seeking support, encouragement, or just a kind word to turn away the wrath that they are enduring. And my pastor's heart reaches out to each one, to hopefully apply balm and help them through an offense or hurt...
...which leads me to why I'm even writing this blog at this time.
Today, there are many "talking heads" on Rumble, Youtube, Facebook, Telegram, etc. Everyone has an opinion, and sadly, some do more damage than good. And as we've all learned over the last few years, because you have a "following" does not mean you should be "followed." In fact, no matter what you title yourself, some are in it for the money and/or fame.
How do I know?
When no one is looking...do they answer emails, comments, posts?
Or...
Do they say comments to people that do nothing more than hurt or offend them?
There's nothing wrong with having an opinion, or even believing that what you are speaking is real and accurate. We all do that. Sometimes we're right and sometimes we miss it. Welcome to the human race!
But what is NOT okay, is when a person is hurt by someone they are supposed to "trust" for information, and they use their power to harm followers.
Case in point - just happened today...
One of the people who has been part of our Gathering Community for quite some time emailed me with something that truly upset me, to the point of writing this blog.
This person's father was shot down in WWII over Nazi occupied France and escaped. (Praise the Lord for that!) Sadly an online 'patriot' told her that his military service was trash because he contributed to the Deep State; starting wars for money.
When I read that, my heart sank, tears filled my eyes, and I immediately began praying for this person's heart to be healed from those cutting, heartless, and uncompassionate words.
Is this out of the ordinary? No. Sadly it's commonplace.
Will people who have online influence read this blog? Probably not.
Will they understand that a person's heart is fragile and our words can cripple someone's soul?
An acting coach of mine from many ions ago said something that has stayed with me until this day. He said, "One tiny word spoken...a thousand strong horses cannot pull it back."
God says it like this...
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." Psalm 11:9, KJV
"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." Ephesians 4:29, KJV
Do we all slip up? Absolutely. Again, we are all human. But that little member in our mouths can do insurmountable damage to a heart that can sometimes never be repaired.
For those who are ministers or online influencers or both, it is highly important that we sift our thoughts through our brain and heart before we speak or write. Pray before you comment, post, or respond. Unthoughtful words can destroy someone in a moment that might take years to heal.
We are all fighting the good fight of faith here.
We are all in this together.
Let us never forget that. xo