{"id":70961,"date":"2022-04-21T12:31:26","date_gmt":"2022-04-21T17:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/?p=67183"},"modified":"2025-08-06T13:12:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T18:12:18","slug":"responding-with-love-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/responding-with-love-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Responding With Love Online"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Anger and offense are big problems in the world today — sadly, even among Christians. I can find myself getting easily irritated by this world, even though I know Christ asks me to live with patience and kindness. Do you often find yourself easily irritated, too?<\/em><\/p>\n

When we\u2019re angry, how quickly do we go on the attack? Is this how God wants us to respond to one another? No. There\u2019s a better way. His way.<\/em> <\/i><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Responding like Jesus should be our daily intention.<\/p>\n

\"Responding<\/b>Responding in Attack Mode<\/b><\/h2>\n

Rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus, Inflammatory bowel disease, Multiple sclerosis. While these diseases are all different, they share a common thread, a similar root cause. They\u2019re triggered when our bodies attack themselves. Our immune system goes haywire. Instead of protecting us like it\u2019s designed to, it attacks us. It intentionally destroys <\/i>healthy cells.<\/p>\n

I think the same thing can happen in our relationships. We declare war on our relationships when we allow jealousy, conceit, pride, anger, and selfishness to take over. As we nurse our hurts and wounds, we find ourselves tearing each other down, rather than building each other up. In His Word, God repeatedly cautions us against this. He knows these actions only bring pain and suffering into our lives.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Some of us are our worst on social media<\/strong><\/a>. We can find ourselves saying things we\u2019d never say to someone\u2019s face. Words we can’t take back. Even if the post gets deleted, we leave hurt and brokenness behind.<\/p>\n

Deep down we know that these thoughts and behaviors hurt God\u2019s heart. And we know that our unChristlike behavior limits our influence to point others to Him. We need to do better<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Responding Like Christ<\/b><\/h2>\n

So what can we do about this? We can set Christ-honoring habits that help us to respond like Him<\/strong><\/a>,<\/i> even when we\u2019re hurt, angry, or cranky. God wants us to respond rightly even when we\u2019ve not gotten enough sleep, or not nurtured our hearts and minds with His Word. We need to look to Him to have the mental, physical, and spiritual strength to better reflect Jesus.
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\nHere are four steps we can take before we post to ensure we respond with grace online:<\/b><\/p>\n