Temper

I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you. Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD. Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart. - Psalm 32:8-11

This Lenten photo-a-day project relies heavily on social media. Those who interact in these social spaces regularly can attest to the amount of snark that can escalate when certain topics arise. Election season typically makes a great case for this.

Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you.

It’s easy to let our emotions rage; our tempers get out of control when we have a smartphone or a computer separating us. And sure, there are valid reasons that warrant those emotions. 

But let’s also temper that with the command to Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

What are the ways that we can channel the joy and gladness within us to speak those things that need to be said online and off, even if others may not agree?

I love social media and try to remember my audience when I am posting, but often I forget that I have an audience.  When it comes to political and religious posts that often tend to cause raw emotion, I'm blessed that most of the people who follow me on social media sites (FB, Blogger, Twitter, and now Pinterest) are of like mind.  It's more difficult to cause the temper to swell in others when they agree with what you post.  As far as the "joy" of social media, I find the joy in staying connected to others.  

I also use social media as a source of information.  My news comes from my GoogleReader (soon to close) feeds, Twitter and Facebook.  My Facebook page is a bit of a source of information to people who work in my school district when it comes to snow days and late starts.  Each time it snows, I'm kind enough to post pertinent information to the cancellations and late starts.  Of course, we never have either, but I am able to spread a bit of humor to those who read my updates.  The last update was actually initiated by a FB friend that works in my district.  She sent a message saying that she was looking forward to my update, so I had to post.  I posted about the cancellation due to snow plow vandalism (fabricated).  The next day we actually had a snow day.  Perhaps my snow posts from now on will become reality.  Snow is expected on Monday morning.  Stay tuned.

Temper.  I feel that I have a temper.  Perhaps others would be happy if I did have a bit and bridle (although I'm not really sure what they are... one goes in the mouth, the one I need).  Of course, I try to be a better person, but sometimes...  Often I ask others to read my e-mails before I hit send.  It's a good thing especially when it comes to work e-mails.

Yep, that's it for today.  It's a bit of a dumb post, but it was a bit of a dumb prompt.  I do, however, like my pictures.

Even Kitty Klaus likes social media.