May 04 2006
Sinning at the Speed of Light
Another from the archives, edited. Written May, 2005
I read an email once that had as part of its signature, “this email printed on 100% recycled electrons.�
Funny, but not this morning.
Ever notice how fast electrons move?
At one point a friend posted something in his blog that caused some others to post some less than charitable responses. He later repented of part of what he had written, and I took it upon myself to lay in on a particular blog with both barrels, noting their lack of charity and benefit of the doubt for the blogger in question.
Did I mention that electrons move fast?
Things we post on the internet (or hit send from our outboxes) move really fast. In the old days I would have a lot of time between writing something like I did this morning and it even making it to the post office. Not so anymore. I can sin so much more efficiently now that we’re in the internet age.
While in the shower that morning the Spirit hit me with what I had written and I was forced to apply it, and the sermon I preached this past Sunday evening, to my own heart and my own actions. The blog, thankfully, had a feature where as the author of a comment I could delete it, but not before it was able to be read by anyone who looked at that in those very long two hours in between. And not before it doubtlessly sent a copy of that comment on to the blog’s owner.
This serves as a reminder to me (and I hope to all of us) why Jesus warns us in the Scriptures to be slow to speak and quick to listen. It is those comments I make without weighing them that almost invariably get me into trouble and are a cause for repentance.
Praise God that he gives to me (and to all of His children) the grace to see our own sin, and to repent when it is seen. May He also give me the grace to slow down and not to so easily sin at the speed of an electron.
