Insubordinate, Empty Talkers, & Deceivers

For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers, and deceivers... (Titus 1:10a)

Speaking in the 1st Century, Paul was warning Titus about the challenges that the soon-to-be ordained overseers in Crete would face, but he could just as easily have been speaking to the modern pastor about navigating the Internet in the 21st Century.

There is nothing new under the sun.  Technology changes, but human nature remains the same (unless changed by Almighty God). 

The Internet is full of insubordination.  Submission has never been easy, and it never will be.  It should be said that this is as true of disgruntled parishioners in a local congregation as it is of keyboard warriors.  This vice lies in the heart of man, not merely in his fingers.  However, social media and other online spaces provide a voice for those who are probably better left voiceless.  Christians need to be on guard for this tendency.  Those of us who fancy ourselves writers should be especially careful not to speak or act in a way that usurps the due authority of valid church institutions.

Boy, is the Internet full of empty talkers!  Christians are certainly not the only ones guilty of this (see the seemingly endless number of podcasts that are really just guys talking while sitting on couches), but we who profess the name of Christ should be most cautious about this tendency.  Intentionally redeeming the time has never been more necessary.  So much of what we do is simply to kill time.  We play; we scroll; we fill the silence.  Christians shouldn't talk simply to talk.  We should talk because we have something to say or something to learn.

All corners of our world are full of deceivers.  The heart is deceitful above all things (Jer 17:9).  Yet, the Internet provides us an unprecedented opportunity to curate the persona we present to the world.  Online we can be whoever we choose to be.  We can pick and choose which parts of reality when want to acknowledge.  Social media invites us to deceive every time we log in.  Everything we post (or don't post) is an opportunity for a white lie (or worse).  

We should strive to be truthful and helpful whenever we open our mouths.  James tells us just how difficult this is--no one can tame the tongue! (James 3:8)  This is true of our lives at home, at work, at church, etc., but the Internet provides a particularly dangerous arena in which the base passions of man can spread unchecked.  We should probably all spend less time online, but, when we are online, let's make sure we aren't the kinds of people about whom Paul was warning Titus.

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.  (Col 4:6)