Typo's, grammatical errors, misspellings and such.
The most noticeable thing about people is their use of the English language, or sometimes the lack there of. Even though one of the things that make me cringe is the misuse of "there, their, and they're". I've done it. I've written aloud when I meant to write allowed. I've posted a status update where I had a very clear typo (in my defense, most of those were done on a phone and I blame my fingers), sometimes even I have fallen victim to auto correct. So, really, I get it. It happens. I am not too harsh on the average person with a grammatical error or typo here and there. Even if its a person that makes the same error all the time, I probably won't comment a correction to their grammar, even if I think it (ok, there was one person I did that to, and I really didn't care if they unfriended me over it). I'll try not to judge them. However, I do think teachers, organizations, and businesses however, should not be making simple errors like the wrong form of "there" or "to". I will come close to posting a correction to those... I'll type out what I want to say in that little white box, I just might not actually hit the word "post", If I know the person well, I'll message them to get their act together. I admit, I do think about tagging them in pictures like this:
I don't, but I do think about it.
What do these things tell us about people? Well, how well they paid attention in school might be the first thing that comes to most peoples minds. It might be tempting for those who are grammar police (I do not consider myself this for the simple fact, I DO NOT know all things grammar), to think people are just dumb. While that may be true that some people did not pay attention in school, we also take into consideration that formal writing is not used in all professions. For people who have not had to do any formal writing for 5 or more years, the art is probably a little dusty. Others may know the difference, but their brain thinks faster than their fingers and, without proof reading, they make the mistakes. I personally can write out the word experiment and spell it correctly, but when I type it I write "experiement". Every. Single. Time. So, I have to type that word slowly and tell my fingers not to type the e after the i. Regardless of what the reason is for a typo, we take notes.
Likes
Ever see a suggested Facebook page to like and it tells you how many of your friends that like that page? They do that to get you to like the page. Simple use of the Bandwagon persuasion technique I remember teaching my 6th grade reading class. If Paige likes this page, so should you! I don't usually hop on any bandwagon just because my friends do. I have to check things out. Still, by showing me which friends like a page, I have found pages that I follow because I checked it out after seeing that "Paul liked this page".
It gets more interesting when you see that someone likes something that... well.... maybe you think they shouldn't? Like the male worship leader that "likes" Victorias Secret, the girls ministry leader that "likes" the movie "American Pie", or even the greeter at the front door who "likes" a song that is all about prostitution. Facebook even tells us when someone "likes" an article. We get to see when they "like" a post about someone going out to party after their hard week. We see when they like the article about their favorite tv show renewing seasons. All of that information is put out there for us to see, and, right or wrong, we store that information about them.
Shares
This one is a pet peeve of mine. People share things without thinking. They are devout Christians yet share a photo or post of false religion teaching, with an "amen" in their post. Through Facebook posts you can learn that some people have a very little understanding of who Christ really is. For example sharing photos proving your love for Jesus. I've read the whole Bible, and unless I missed something, sharing a photo of Obi-won Kenobi in a Jedi robe* does not mean you are saved. My understanding is that confessing with your mouth that He is Lord and believing in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead is how you gain salvation.
In that same group, sharing a photo of money will not get you a blessing from God any more than sharing the photo of the poor kid in the hospital will get Facebook to donate money. This tells me that the person sharing the post is easy to fall into a hoax, a religious one or a Facebook one.
Whats the one I fall into? Sharing the posts about winning leggings..... I really want a pair, I really do. I am not paying $25 for some though. Will I really win any? Probably not, with 10K other people sharing, it won't be me. Alas, for some reason I lack the self control to not share the stinking post.
So What?
Ok so, grammatical errors and typos are really not that important in the grand scheme of things. What about the rest? Why is all of that important? Is the whole point that we shouldn't judge others? Well, of course we don't judge because we aren't the Judge, that's God. However, we do know the standards we have been called to and we are to stand firm in them. We are to encourage others and teach others the right way. Titus 2:15 tells us to encourage and rebuke with all authority. We as Christians are set apart from the world. God's word gives us directions on living a Holy Life. When a fellow believer is walking out of line, we are told to let them know. Doesn't mean WE have the power to condemn them to hell. We teach them what we know.
What about unbelievers? What do we do to them? Well, that is really what my point is all about. Earlier, in Titus chapter 2, it tells us that we are to set examples for others in our speech, integrity and doing what is good. If I say "I'm a Christian!" but I am hateful toward those that I don't see eye to eye, what does that say? What about when I "like" a movie that is all about premarital teenage sex, and I just got through telling my class of teenage girls to save themselves for marriage? How about when I share the photo of money waiting for God to bless me? Is that soundness of speech?
Do you see where the signals of what we are saying and what we are showing on Facebook start to contradict themselves?
Maybe we need to watch what we post on social media so others don't see. That would be the Pharisaical thing to do. Jesus calls us to go deeper than what others see and look at our hearts. Go beyond just cleaning up our social media accounts, have the Holy Spirit clean up our hearts. Check out all of Titus chapter 2, and see what it says about how we, as Christians, are to live.
Now, let me go share that LuLaRoe post one more time, in hopes of getting leggings. I'm still working on that area.
* I have recently learned that the actor who played Obi-Won did play Jesus in a movie in 2015. The picture on Facebook however, is still Obi-Won.
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