Fronting up!

A Nescafe billboard caught my eye recently, reminding passers-by that ‘it’s even better to lol for real!’ For those of us who are not quite up with the latest non-verbal conventions, ‘lol’ is shorthand for ‘laugh out loud’. This clever marketing strategy is making reference to the growing social problem where more and more people are replacing face-to-face contact with its many and varied technological, non-verbal alternatives.

Communicating in this day and age has become as easy as the click of a button. Text messaging, emails, internet chat rooms, instant messaging, and social networking sites ensure that nearly all of us can be contacted in any place and at any time. This certainly has its benefits. But it is important to remember that we should never replace true relationship and communication with these mediums, in the name of ease and efficiency.

There are many users of social networking sites that apparently have hundreds of ‘friends’, yet they are often incredibly lonely people. Is it because they are never properly meeting and connecting with others? This is the trap for all people who use electronic communication as their primary means to conduct relationships. Perhaps we could ask ourselves the question, how many ‘online friends’ have we actually spoken to in person during the past year, five years or even ten years?

Non-verbal mediums don’t allow for genuine relationship because the information they convey is simply that – information. I’m sure everyone has sent text messages which have been misinterpreted by the recipient, or we have had to include lots of smiley faces or lol’s in our emails to ensure that the ‘tone’ of our intended communication is accurate. These difficulties highlight the futility of using these mediums as our primary means of conducting a genuine relationship. It is simply not possible to communicate effectively this way!

Having considered how we should communicate, it’s important to also consider what we are communicating. The book of Proverbs has much to say on this subject. It describes pleasant words as being like honeycomb, ‘sweet to the soul and healing to the bones’. Conversely, it warns that ‘a worthless man digs up evil, while his words are like scorching fire’. What a contrast! It is important to realise that the words we speak have a profound impact on the people around us. The key for all of us is to carefully consider what we will say before we say it. In the book of Proverbs we find this question, ‘Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.’ Prov 29:20.

Modern communication gives us the freedom to send, post, tweet, blog, and upload whatever comes into our heads almost before it’s even got there! However, it is critical that we take heed to the warning that we must not be hasty with our words.

The advances in technology have resulted in many varied and extremely useful forms of communication, but it is critical to remember that these methods can never replace truly meeting and properly relating with other people.

Penny Smith

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Feature Articles
March 2010

First Place

In and out

Facing our fears

First love

Fronting up!

Are you the one?

Seek Him first

The first and the best

When the axe is blunt

Come home

Familiarity breeds contempt