Don’t you hate it when you know certain people read your blog and you want to write about them. But you know if you write about them they will know that you are writing about them because if you say, “My friend Stan…” they know you really mean “My friend Sam….” So it’s frustrating.
Or what about a situation where you have a crush someone and you begin to describe them and how they act and all of a sudden the person reading it knows that you are talking about them because you describe an a specific incident, or place or a phrase that they used and it made you lovesick. I think it’s against the rules to find out someone has a crush on you through their blog.
Or what about someone that doesn’t like you. Chances are they won’t read your blog right afterwards it’ll be later when they think, “I wonder if he blogged about me?” And sure enough there is this 500 word post on how you had a fight with a “friend” and of course you call them all sorts of names (except their real name of course) but any person that reads it (especially the friend) knows exactly what happened and who you are talking about.
You can get in all sorts of trouble for the words you use on your blog. I have to admit sometimes it’s tempting when something happens to just lay the whole thing out there for everyone to see and know about. Tell your side of the story and get the truth out there at any cost because it’s your blog and your loyal faithful readers (all 3 of them) deserve to know what is going on so that they can leave their comments of support. And so that your adversary knows that you are not going to take all of this lying down.
But then again there is something in scripture that amazes me. When Jesus stands falsely accused before Caiaphas, the Synoptic Gospels record that Jesus, for the most part, was silent before His accusers (Matthew 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65; Luke 22:54-71). The only thing He told them was that the Son of Man would be seated in Power. All Jesus does is gives glory to God. He doesn’t argue, He doesn’t fight, He doesn’t threaten them, He doesn’t vaporize them… He is silent except to Praise His Father.
Which reminds me of Job 40. Job has questioned God on a number of occasions and throughout the whole process God does not answer except to glorify His name. When Job finally “gets it” he says:
4″Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
5I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but I will proceed no further.”-Job 40:4-5
I realize that words are powerful. A favorite song of mine from a musical called Into The Woods says, “Careful the things you say, Children will listen.” Of course I think the Bible says it best:
1 A soft answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.-Proverbs 15:1
Not only are words powerful, they can’t be undone. There is no “do over,” no second chance, no time travel to go back in time and say something over again. And so I am learning about silence. I am learning that there is no need to lash out to my adversaries with words. I am learning that if I do speak it should be with God’s glory in mind.
I am learning how to be silent.*
Shall I Attempt To Speak (mp3)
Shall I Attempt To Speak (PDF)
This blog is about me, isn’t it?
i’ve been there before, conflicted after wanting to write but not publishing it for the sake of who reads it