As If The Whole World Is Listening

The written word has a lot of power. Even more so, perhaps, than the spoken word because it can be re-read, and re-read... and re-read. Especially on the internet, written words have a way of enduring well past their "best-before" date.

A blog is often written for a specific audience. This blog, for instance, is for my family and other homeschoolers and Christians. It probably won't appeal to an atheist who is the head of an education department.

But sometimes, someone else reads stuff. Sometimes, someone stumbles across a blog and finds something they weren't expecting. The book of Ecclesiastes cautions:

Do not curse the king, even in your thought;
Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom;
For a bird of the air may carry your voice,
And a bird in flight may tell the matter.

This is even more true today than it was several thousand years ago, as the internet spreads our words far and wide. And so, it would be wise to speak as though the whole world is listening; write as though the whole world is reading. And consider carefully what our words are telling the whole world about who we really are.

A Blatant Regard For Others

A couple of days ago I dropped off Miss Curie for an afternoon activity. It was a pretty warm afternoon and I backed into the car park so I could get home quickly and get dinner organised as soon as Miss Curie was "signed in". I came back out to my car just a few minutes later to find another car parked directly in front of mine, completely blocking my exit. This was in an otherwise almost-empty car park.

This wasn't really a big deal. It wasn't very long before the driver of the other car came back out and drove away. My life went on pretty much as usual. However, even a few minutes delay was inconvenient. Hanging around in a car park with two small and grumpy children is no fun. I was in a quandary - should I just wait, or should I try to track down the owner of the car in case they were more than a few minutes? And I'll admit, I was more than a little peeved that in a car park with loads of other spaces close to the building, someone had had the blatant disregard for my needs to park their car in a way that totally blocked me in.

Such situations tend to get me pondering, and what came of my pondering was this. The Christian calling is about a lot more than NOT having a blatant disregard for others. It is very easy for me to feel superior to that sweet-looking older lady who drove away a few minutes later, just because I've never blocked someone else in like that (and who knows, she may, in fact, have had a really good reason). However, I have no business feeling one tiny bit superior, because I am still being passive. My first consideration in making decisions is what is best for me. I invariably choose the "path of least resistance" unless it is clearly morally wrong. This doesn't make me good, just lazy.

What if I rose to a higher standard? What if I started making decisions with a blatant regard for others? When I really meditate on the life of Christ, I'm overwhelmed by a sense of His perfection. He did so much more than JUST not do wrong - He did everything absolutely right. He always chose the "best for others" option, not the "best for me while not hurting anyone else option".

So anyway, that's what I'm working on - having a blatant regard for others. Someone let me know when I'm perfect!