Do the following sentences make sense to you? “I found a BFF on FB with my Droid App. His blog made me LOL so hard I had to tweet.”1 If so, you are plugged into the lingo of our digital era, and (unlike me) are probably skilled in the media mentioned. But whether you’re fluent in cyber-slang and quick with a computer, or (like me) have a hard time with basic email, we must all be adept at avoiding the dangers of our digital age.

The biblical book of James addresses what we might call sins of speech. His words about speech are particularly pertinent in the age of Facebook, online journaling and Twitter. James calls the tongue “a fire, a world of unrighteousness” (3:6). In our day, technology allows our words an unprecedented ability to burn.

James puts a speed limit on our tendency to sprint into speech (Jas. 1:19). He tells us to be “quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” The time it takes for speech to span the earth is negligible. No matter how righteous or wicked, our words travel at warp speed into the ears, eyes, and souls of other people. Such speed is a blessing to Christians; we can encourage far-off brethren almost instantaneously. But this same speed can serve our sin when we want to belittle someone else, or when someone else belittles us. Vindictive and victimized people fly to Facebook to stir up an online mob or can tweet someone’s location to a real mob. Our quick tempers send our fingers tapping, and within seconds a person may be in spiritual and physical danger.

James’ command bids our hearts to be calm, to not take up an offense quickly. As believers, we must honor all of God’s image bearers, even when they do dishonorable things (See Jas. 3:9-10). If we are on the receiving end of cyber-slander, we must not “return evil for evil.” The Lord provides within His church the means of pursuing justice, means as discreet as the offense given and which are best pursued offline. In the midst of conflict, face-to-face meetings are always best whenever possible. Regardless of the distance between us, we must take time in the midst of conflict to seek the Lord (1:5) and to listen to appropriate, biblically based counsel.

Our generation promotes personal, computerized catharsis as a healthy way of demonstrating emotional authenticity. But biblical discretion must always drive our digital talk. James’ call for us to confess our sins to one another (Jas. 5:16) is not an invitation to public proclamation of our private lives. Marriages and other friendships maybe threatened when outsiders are invited to peer within and comment upon the personal matters that make those relationships special and exclusive.

Lastly, notice that James’ warning about the fiery nature of the tongue follows immediately upon his strictures concerning teaching in the church (Jas. 3:1). All of our words matter, and our words about the Lord are especially consequential. To promote God’s good name and to protect God’s people, James tells the majority of believers not to become teachers. In no way does James denigrate “the priesthood of all believers.” His prohibition follows from the fact that Christ appoints the teachers of His church through His church (Eph. 4:8-14; 1 Tim. 4:13-16).

In cyberspace, anyone can teach. Some people consider lack of ecclesiastical endorsement a badge of honor and a sign of uncompromised ministry. As we digitally disseminate our words concerning God’s Word, we can easily avoid accountability by “unfriending” our dissenters. Zealous, newly Reformed young men are particularly easy prey for autonomous preachers whose godless bravado has the appearance of gospel boldness. Reputable online ministry can be a great blessing. But we must never use it to avoid personal preaching and mutual accountability within the assembled congregation. There, the ordained minister must look us in the eye while he preaches, and he has to see us looking back!

The virtual world is rife with real delights and real dangers. As God’s people, let us claim this world for Christ by making our words within it few and full of the fruit of the Spirit.

—Rutledge Etheridge

1 Translation: I found a “best friend forever” on Facebook with my particular brand of computerized cell phone and its purchased capability to link to Facebook. His web journal made me “laugh out loud” so hard that I felt compelled to make a quick comment about it on another social media site called Twitter.