Email Quality

In case nobody has noticed, Paul is one of my favorite people to write about and learn from. There is so much to learn from his life, his walk with the Lord…and his letters—which is what I am going to write about at this time. You can tell a lot about a person by reading what they write—the things that are important to them, the things they like or detest, and what they think about. Paul is, of course, no exception, and his letters are incredible! They are just packed with every topic imaginable of how to grow in your spiritual walk. Now, Paul had God telling him what exactly to write, but at the time, he probably didn’t know that his letters would become a big part of the Bible. He was just a man who had a desire to write to his friends and encourage them to grow closer to God.

Now, this is 2009, and people never sit down with a crusty piece of parchment and pen in hand to send a letter. Well ok, maybe a small minority do, but only a few, and a lot of people don’t even like to write in the first place. Instead, we send emails all the time. Everybody. It’s something I, and almost all the other people I know love to do. Whether the email is long or short, written by friend or foe, I simply love opening up the email and seeing that I have messages in my inbox. And as a matter of fact, I consider myself a pretty good email-writer. I can put in silly quotes, and express my emotions with smiley faces, and exclamation points and all that, and I’m very faithful at replying to emails sent my way. But when I look over the last, say…20 emails that I have sent, and compare them with the letters Paul sent to his friends, it makes me feel ashamed. I have Christian friends that I care deeply about, and I really want to see them growing closer to the Lord, but I often waste far too much time sending rather pointless emails and letters that have nothing to do with exhortation or spiritual growth.

So today I really have no insightful scripture to share, but rather a thought that I have developed (with the help of my friend Emily), and a little tidbit to encourage all of us to use our emailing and chatting and that sort of thing (even writing letters, if that’s what suits your fancy!) as an opportunity not only to have fun, but also to exhort one another, and push each other forward in our walk with the Lord.

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).