James 1.19 says, "Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry."

This principle is exceptionally difficult to obey and internalize in a digital culture. Beth Moore notes in her study of James about this that "if the implications were frightening in James' day when letters were written longhand and delivered foot-slow, imagine the impact in a culture where we can instantly voice our heated opinions in a public forum without the benefit of an editor or a permanent eraser"

Make no mistake that social media is a public forum. What we post on Twitter, Facebook, and other web platforms should be submitted to the wisdom of this verse. With the advent of Facebook's new timeline, it's easy to see the maturity (or lack thereof) of a person's posts.

A ministry friend recently tweeted, "One thing I have noticed about the new Facebook timeline is that I was very immature with things I said when I first got on it."

What we post as our status can become the standard by which we're measured. So think twice. Is what you post necessary, helpful and beneficial? Whether you want your character to be measured by the ones you post is not an option. It will be.