All the Tea in China

Well, I suppose I need to take the pledge.  No, no, not THAT one!  I’m talking about the no-political-comments-on-Facebook pledge.  You see, I have a lot of conservative friends.  And I am finding myself not quite in agreement with them sometimes.  One of the things I do not like is the tendency to get personal…calling candidates names…posting things that are only half true that were dredged up from some talking head web site.

Yes, I know, I’ve been guilty of some of that.  And I repent in dust and ashes.  My sister, bless her heart, has taken a one month sabbatical from Facebook all together.  She’s due to come back on October 1.  She’s a brave woman…for coming back after having the peace of not having to deal with some of what goes on there.

So, henceforth, I will do my best to shut my mouth (figuratively speaking) when faced with the prospect of posting something political in nature on my wall.  I do not promise to entirely refrain from posting a comment on someone else’s post, but will try to limit that as much as possible.

You see, it is so easy to say things on Facebook that just aren’t in accord with the plain teaching I find in the Bible.  I won’t bore you with references.  Suffice it to say that our speech, if we are Christ-followers, is to be “with grace,” “seasoned, as it were, with salt,” and is to be spoken “in love.”  We are to respect others, honor those in authority over us, and love our neighbor (everyone besides ourselves) as we do ourselves.  We are to watch diligently that we don’t let our tongues get the best of us.  Our tongue, the Good Book says, “is a fire, the very world of iniquity.”  We are to “let no unwholesome word proceed from (our) mouth(s), but only such a word as is good for edification…that it may give grace to those who hear.”  There is to be “no filthiness, silliness, or coarse talk” among us.  We are to “put aside” abusive speech.  And we know that Jesus himself said that “the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.”

Speech that is written, electronically produced, reproduced, spoken, acted out, or whatever, is still speech…words…communication…and is subject to the paragraph above, in my view.  So I take the pledge, knowing I will fail, and sometimes fail miserably.  Yet I also know that the One who gave me the words above will see me through, will forgive, will enable, will still love me.  And that, my friend, is better than all the tea in China.