The great thing about internet communication is you can filter what you say. The terrible thing about internet communication is that you can filter anything you say! Yeah, lots of people seem to post whatever crosses their mind that split second, but there’s a category of us (those lurking facebookers who rarely post but comment and ‘like’ perpetually or worse..silently lurk) who think twice about posting stuff. I mean really, you never know who’s going to see it!
I find myself afraid of letting my personality slip too freely into the inter web for a variety of reasons.
One. The government is watching. Ooo. If you’ve seen Person of Interest–you know, the show that stopped being fiction when Snowden decided his conscience wouldn’t let him stay silent–then you know what I mean. Privacy is a thing of the past, whether we like it or not. Even if the government is watching, I won’t let that keep me from saying what I’m given to say. It didn’t stop Snowden. What’s happening is happening but fear should not silence our voice—every voice has the power to change someone’s world.
Two. What I post defines me. Yes, that’s true. The videos I like, the comments I make, the links I share, the words I write: they all give you a little glimpse into me. What I don’t post defines me too. If I want you to know me, I’ll share what I want you to know. I don’t think you need to know every intimate or mundane detail. I like Benedict Cumberbatch’s response when asked the color of his toothbrush:
There’s a limit to the sharing.
I want people to know the real me, yet I’m on such a semi-public platform. I will be misinterpreted. I want to entertain, inspire, and encourage. I want to help and not hinder. Not to care so much about what people think as much as what God has given me to say. I want my words to count, but first I have to risk it, and say them.
Life is about growing and changing. So, try something different. Maybe that means being a little more filtered or maybe a little more honest. I’m scared by it, but I want to be honest. God made me who I am for a purpose.
He made you with a unique personality worth being heard too, so please speak up.
Not so much about breakfast and toothbrushes, but a little more heart and head. You have something worth saying, but it may take corking the steady stream of mundane to find the gems produced under a little pressure. Think, is this who I want people to see?
Be free, be inspired, but balance that flight with some wisdom.
Speak the truth, but always in love. And remember, Nodoby’s perfect, except Jesus. Forgive. Often. When you have something worth saying, Say it!
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