Scriptural Wisdom for Online Living

Josh Harris:

We've all sent an e-mail and forgotten to include the attachment we promise. But have you ever sent the wrong e-mail to the wrong person? Slate's Michael Agger has an interesting article "Can't Believe I Just Sent That" which describes a few e-mail horror stories and the fact that Gmail has recently announced an "unsend" feature that gives you an extra 5 seconds to rethink what you wrote.

This reminded me of James 1:19 that encourages us to be "slow to speak" in our conversations. It got me thinking how a certain passages of scripture, (with a few added phrases for our new electronic forms of communication), could be useful to inform our e-mailing, blogging and tweeting. A few suggestions with new words in italics:

Psalm 141:3
Set a guard, O Lord, over my keyboard;
keep watch over the door of my send button!

James 1:19
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to read, slow to reply all, slow to click send.

Proverbs 10:19
When blogging is abundant, transgression is not lacking,
but whoever restrains his keyboard is prudent.

Proverbs 12:18
There is one whose comments on blogs are like sword thrusts,
but the comments of the wise brings healing.

Proverbs 14:7
Don't follow the Twitter feed of a fool,
for there you do not meet words of knowledge.

Proverbs 12:23
A prudent man conceals knowledge,
but the Twitter feed of fools proclaims folly.