What Are You Forwarding...?

Who doesn’t love e-mail? Let’s face it, we all love going to the “Inbox” first thing in the morning (after prayer and scripture reading, of course) in hopes of receiving something wonderful. The computer says, “You’ve Got Mail!” Oh what glee! I’ve got my morning coffee with that special creamer that I love and I’m ready to be delighted. The pearl would be a personal note from a friend. (Since the hand written note is a rarity and almost extinct, we settle for “what is” and not “what was”)
The anticipation builds only to find that our Inbox, today, is full of “Fwds…” and not one personal note amongst all this communication. What is the world coming to? I slump with disappointment and begin scanning the unopened mail to see if there is anything of value. I admit, right here and now, that my finger is poised on the delete button ready to disengage, as it were, a missile that blasts these horrid intruders like an alien space ship heading for earth. “Forwards” are the junk mail that your friends feel you must have. I can’t hurt their feelings by saying; I loathe all that junk you send me, even though it could save my life someday. (If I could just remember all those emergency numbers when some guy is trying to hijack my car, with me in it. I can see it now, by the time I find my cell phone at the bottom of my purse, the intruder would have us speeding onto the interstate towards destination Desolation. I can’t remember what I need to get from the grocery store without a list. How will I ever manage to save myself via all this forwarded information?)

Before I start in on “Fwd’s…” let me take a moment to acknowledge all those sweet stories that are at time passed off as scripture study. I am amazed when every now and then they are used as text for a sermon, or heaven forbid, a Ladies’ Circle lesson. Their sweetness lost by the mere mass volume of them and the content very generic and milk-like at best.

Getting back to our morning check of the Inbox, I begin by looking at one Sender at a time. As I stare at the name and subject, which is “Fwd…” by the way, I whisper…. “why” to my friend and then proceed to the business at hand; my first task of the day….deleting junk mail. I have to admit; that once in a while my curiosity is stirred, and of course, yes, that’s right, I open a few to see what is so urgent or amazing that this friend or acquaintance of mine has felt that I must be a part of their forwarding frenzy. I acknowledge that there are some sights we may never see except for the happenstance of the internet and a doting friend. Example: A highway in Peru on the side of a mountain that rivals a goat’s path, where vehicles of all sizes must pass by each other so carefully as to not plummet to their death. Another is footage from a lost city that is so amazing, we pause to wonder at the mysteries of this great earth and its’ civilizations that now no longer exist.

There are also the stories that bring us to tears. (Hey, I’m a woman, and I admit I love a good cry.) One of my favorite stories was about a little dog named Skidboot who was so intelligent that if I believed in evolution, and I don’t, I would say that he is almost human. (Look out! apes and chimpanzees everywhere, a common household pet has surpassed your capabilities.) You’ve probably all been blasted with Skidboots’ story, I don’t know why I’m repeating it, but just in case there are a few of you who have no forwarding friends, pause for a prayer of thanks, the dog went blind and with difficulty now only performs a scant measure of his tricks at home with family in lieu of a stage and audience packed with fans and hearty cheers. His owner loves him so much that he vows to care for Skidboot and provide for all his needs as long as they both shall live. (Tissues, a must when reading that story.) With a compulsion beyond good reasoning, I pressed the forward button, and yes, sent it out to a few of my good friends. They just had to see this! Skidboot could do anything which included showing off his peculiar antics in turn for a handsome yearly income. My daughter responded by saying, “Why…………..! Why did Skidboot have to go blind?” And even though the story was precious for a dog-lover such as myself, I chuckled at the few words from an actual person whom I knew and could distinctly hear her voice and feel her personality piercing through the few lines of a typed page. (i.e. the longed for personal note.)

Okay, okay, enough about that. I’ve deliberately brought out a few good things about “forwarding” as to not be cited as a Negative Nellie or bring down my “Fwd...” loving friends. (I can see them now staring at the computer screen in utter disbelief that all of their “thoughtfulness” is met by groans. They probably wonder if this is really true. I say with a resounding “yes”, as I step forward to speak for those who are just too timid or polite to do so) Pity… no one likes to be the last to know.

Putting all that aside I want to broach the subject of the other type of “Fwd…” that makes me sit back in amazement at times, wondering why on earth would a Christian be sending this out when it could be misconstrued as part of their belief system. Examples: The money angel. Send her on to ten of your friends and you will be rich. If you fail to “Fwd…” her, guess what, you’ll never be rich. Or another example; this e-mail will bring you luck, IF you send it on to everyone in your address book. If not, bad luck is headed your way.
All of the above leads up to the point of this post, “What Are You Forwarding?” Let’s be careful as to the words we choose to express ourselves whether in a conversation or a seemingly innocent e-mail with a “Fwd…” attached.

Ephesians 4:29-30 “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.” Definition of corrupt: To degrade with unsound principles; to alter from the original or correct form; to cause disintegration.

Do we want people to think that we believe in good luck as opposed to the blessings of God? And on the other hand, take certain precautions to ward off bad luck? I would venture to say that no one who serves God would subscribe to those thoughts or foolish traditions. So let’s be careful not to send that kind of information as representative of our thoughts or belief system.This post has to do with our conversation, whether it is face to face or contained in an e-mail.
What does the scripture say concerning our conversation?

Matthew 12:34-37 “…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. "

We will give an account of every idle word one day. My kids have heard me quote this plenty of times. It causes even a child to stop and think. Let us, as Christians, be careful with the words we choose to use and the information that we forward to others.

To sort of go along with this topic, many people today use the OMG (Oh my God) abbreviation as an exclamation in their Instant Messaging, etc. This is not good. We must remember The Ten Commandments contains a Rule regarding the use of God in our conversation, that so many seem to feel comfortable overlooking.

Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. What does vain mean? It doesn't mean necessarily cursing using the name of God, which would certainly be included, but vain means empty, idle words; for nothing.

Let's take the commandment to heart and be careful not to sin in this way. I’ve heard these words used by some in the church and it really shouldn’t be found among us, like the accursed thing that was found hidden under Achan's tent, which brought folly and the displeasures of God upon Israel. (See Joshua chapter 7)

Recently, while searching for something on the internet, I came across an article, not a Christian paper, in which several people were interviewed concerning their thoughts on the use of OMG (Oh my God) today. Most people pass the use of these words or abbreviation off as nothing. One man claimed that he was an atheist, one who doesn’t believe in God, yet he uses the term all the time. It doesn’t mean anything to me, just an exclamation, he said. But what I found most interesting was another man, who by his own account, was raised Baptist as a child and taught never to take the Lord’s name in vain. He said that all these years later, he still will not take the Lord’s name in vain and when he hears someone else do it, even today, it still offends his sensibilities and he cringes.

Deuteronomy 11:26-28 “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; a blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: and a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God…”

How much more should we, as the Saints of God, be careful and not just fluff it off as nothing. I work for a family who are so careful in all matters concerning God, church, and in teaching their children to do right. The children are cautioned never to use those words. We can each be moral and spiritual examples to another, as a people who obey in word or deed all that proceeds from the mouth of God. Let’s not look at ourselves as a shoe-in for heaven, but a God fearing people who are humbly obedient to the written word of God.

Let us remember that we represent Christ and be careful as to how we proceed from this day forward.