Seems I caused a bit of a stir with something I posted on Facebook last week.

I don’t see myself as a cape-wearing Defender of All That Is Good. I don’t want to be viewed as an uptight, legalistic Christian. I just want us to be in the world, not of it.

There is a popular Facebook site with a rather unpleasant – no wait, let’s call it what it is – there’s a Facebook site with a crude, profane expletive in its title. And while it may have useful, fun and interesting updates, every time one of my Facebook friends “liked” or “shared” the update, that crude, profane expletive showed up on my news feed. It made me wince every time.

And I realized that some folks have become so desensitized to the word, it hadn’t occurred to many of them that it was offensive. So I finally said something. And that’s what caused the stir.

Some cheered me on. Some got offended. Some felt guilty. But all I really wanted was for my Christian friends to think about how our lives are portrayed in social media through the things we “like” or “share”.

I’m not perfect. Far from it. And I’m quite sure I’ve offended others along the way and never even had a clue. So my post was a gentle reminder to myself as well. I need to be reminded who I represent here on this earth. I represent Christ even when I’m not intentionally thinking about it. I represent Him at work and at play. Others are watching. Others are listening…and reading.

Every minute of every day my life needs to be a reflection of the God who redeemed me. We don’t get a “day off” from being one of His. We can’t allow being “cool” and “relevant” and “envelope-pushing” or even being naive to interfere with our primary role of glorifying the One who desires us to live only for Him.

I didn’t mean to cause a stir. But sometimes we need to be stirred. All of us.

Including me.

Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. Proverbs 16:24

The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. Proverbs 15:4