Friday, October 03, 2014
If Only It Were That Simple
Ron Edmondson lists "7 ways Christians should behave online." Fascinating list, aimed mostly at social media, and pretty obvious stuff, but in the end he is kind of missing the point. His last item:
It is a question worth pondering repeatedly - With the global reach that media allows today, why did Christ come when there was no media? The message of Christ can only really be transmitted one-to-one - personally, looking each other in the eye.
How should a Christian behave on line? As if on line is "not real." It is an aid to relationship, but it is not relationship. It is a tool for building something - not the thing of itself. Don;t hide behind it.
on line behavior relationships
Not allow it to be a replacement for community – It’s easy to post “Happy birthday” or reply “Praying for you” without really doing so. We shouldn’t trade the functions of the Body for an online presence. (Acts 2:42-47, Hebrews 10:24)Begins to strike at the heart of the matter. It is easy to get out of line online because you do not have to look anybody in the eye. It is hard to be snide to someone's face, not so much on Facebook. Forgive me for not having a link, but recent studies have indicated that people prefer text messaging and on line communication because it gives them an opportunity to manage their identity. That is about as far from the genuineness demanded of us by Jesus as we can get.
It is a question worth pondering repeatedly - With the global reach that media allows today, why did Christ come when there was no media? The message of Christ can only really be transmitted one-to-one - personally, looking each other in the eye.
How should a Christian behave on line? As if on line is "not real." It is an aid to relationship, but it is not relationship. It is a tool for building something - not the thing of itself. Don;t hide behind it.
on line behavior relationships
