Courageousness versus cowardice. Know the difference.
Yesterday I wrote about how, especially when we are “down”, that we often respond to remarks too sensitively.
Proverbs twenty-five was the Proverb I read yesterday:
Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances.
Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold, is a wise reprover to a listening ear. (Italics mine.)
I mentioned social media and how it seems like someone is always offended by something.
Think about that for a minute.
We check-in on social media no matter what our mood. And, of course, many respond negatively because they are in a bad one. If we were having a face to face conversation, we would probably be much more sensitive and less apt to blurt out in a ridiculous manner. I heard a good term the other day and I buy into it one hundred percent, “Social media courage”, something like that. It means we are far more courageous when faced with a computer than faced with a person.
It’s true, isn’t it?
Or in front of a camera. The politicians I heard yesterday on the various news programs sounded like a bunch of third-graders. I wonder how many of them would have been so brave without a camera in front of them. This kind of “fake courage” just nauseates me.
Does it affect you the same way?
The Bible says there is a “right” circumstance to speak up and that “right” circumstance is when the listener is willing to listen.
So let me ask a question?
How can we possibly know how receptive a person is to what we want to say unless we are in their physical presence, or at the very least, talking on the phone with them? (Yea, I know. Talking. An antiquated social skill.)
The short answer is, we can’t.
And one thing is for sure, no one really hears what is being said unless they are in a receptive mood. When we are more courageous spouting off on social media and/or in front of a camera, then we are not brave at all. We are no different from the neighborhood bully.
My conclusion is that those who do spout off when it’s safe are those people who hate confrontation. They have a lot they wish they could say in person but don’t have enough guts to do it. I guess that’s why I’m seldom on social media.
The words in Proverbs are as true now as they were before social media was a “thing”. Don’t you think God foresaw all of this? He allowed words to be written that would prove beneficial for us thousands of years later.
Truth is truth no matter how old or new it is.
Be willing to voice your concerns in person. Don’t be a coward.
God bless and have a good day.
