Last night, I had the extreme privilege of hearing my favorite gospel preacher (other than my husband), BJ Clarke, deliver a powerful lesson on the power of one. One person, one sentence – it can change someone’s final destination. It was all about evangelism and truly making it PERSONAL evangelism (as in making sure YOU’RE doing it) and it stepped on all of my toes.

But then I got back home from the building and I started winding down and got on Facebook of course, and what do I see? A worldly news feed by any standards: complaints, threats, rejoicing in iniquity, boasting about what they were doing during hours the Lord’s people are gathered together. It would appear as any Facebook news feed probably appears…the only problem is, they were updates from my claiming-to-be-Christian friends.

Sometimes I hate living in the technology age, because it is so very easy to get carried away behind a screen. We don’t have to say things to a person’s face, and thus we don’t check our hearts like we should. We don’t think about all of the consequences, because it’s so very easy to hit “send”. Instead of taking the time to process what the appropriate reaction should be, we’ve already exposed our sin-sick hearts to the world by being too quick on the draw.

So what’s this have to do with a personal evangelism lesson?

Do you think any of your friends who are lost in sin are going to readily listen to YOU tell them about the good news of Jesus, who calls them out of sin, when you’re still living so very much in it? Will the words I tell someone in an effort to evangelize contradict the words I’ve used on social media?

Whether we like it or not or realize it or not, we will be judged even by the words we type on social media sites.

Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Paul said, “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”

We must all be careful how we choose our words, but even more so, how we guard our hearts. People are always watching/listening, and they are always being influenced. Are your words/my words always influencing them for Christ? Oh be careful little fingers! I would hate to hear on the judgment day that I had led someone astray because of a careless status update!

Remember, you are an ambassador of Christ Jesus. Always act (and react!!) as He would and as He commands.

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven”