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Years ago, I was working at a doctor’s office in Louisville. One day I was having a hard time getting along with one of my co-workers, let’s call her Diane. I vented my frustrations about Diane to another co-worker on our company instant messaging system. . . . or so I thought. Within a few minutes I realized I had sent that slanderous message to the wrong person. I sent a message complaining about Diane to Diane. To make matters worse, Diane was one of the only unbelievers in our office. How could I possibly reach her with the Gospel if I were going to behave like that?

Take a moment and think about the types of people you post about on Facebook. The people you angrily tweet about. Those who are the subjects of your angry text messages, or your rants on the phone with your friends. Those who occupy your bitter, angry thoughts. What if we could invite them in this room this morning. What if—like my message to Diane—they were able to read what you wrote about them or said about them or thought about them. What if they did that and then looked you in the eyes. What would that do to your witness?

Would progressive liberals want to hear about your Jesus? Would conservatives think they need to? Would people in the LGBTQ+ community believe that Jesus loves them based on what you think, post, and say? Would protestors and looters know that you care about them? What about government officials?

Hear me, Christian. I do not ask these questions to cause you to feel shame. I ask these questions so you will remember what you were saved from. The goal is not to stop sharing hateful posts on social media. The goal is to be so consumed by the reality of your own sin that you don’t want to. How could you? How could you possibly throw a stone at the sins of others when you know that Jesus died for you?