Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.- Ephesians 4: 29 (NKJV)
Does the email you are forwarding impart grace to the hearer or some kind of standard for blessing that is not of God? Does it promote controversies rather than the work of God? Paul instructs Timothy:
As I urged you when I went into
Some are still wandering away, turning to meaningless talk. Myths instead of the truth which brings us to the last point to consider.
4) Is the email you are sending even true? I would
wager that 95% of the alleged facts in chain emails have been falsified. They
are simply untrue. A routine Google search would probably debunk these emails
in less than five minutes but too often we can send the email on without first
checking the veracity of the facts. Of the seven things Proverbs teaches are an
abomination to God, a lying tongue is one of them. When Paul talks about rules
for holy living to the Church at
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3: 5-10
What do we find in the middle of these verses? Amidst anger, rage, idolatry, malice, slander, and filthy language? Untruths. We are to be renewed in the knowledge of God. We are to put off the old self. The truth to the world is malleable. It can be molded to shape what they want. Opinion is stated as fact. Spin becomes an acceptable point of view. The world teaches that the truth contains shades of grey but the Bible teaches that the truth is black and white. There is right and there is wrong. Shades of grey exist to make us feel better about the fact that we are doing something deep down we know is wrong.
The key verses implore us to watch our lives and doctrine closely. That includes our speech and email is part of what we have to say. It is part of our representation of Christ. I am not speaking about sending an occasional joke here or there, or inspiring pictures of the creative powers of God. I am speaking about chain email that serves to take glory away from God, does not edify people or is simply untrue. I am speaking about thinking about who is receiving the emails and where they might be in their walk. Not everyone is at the same place in their walk and their faith.
