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The Christianity Today women's blog provides news and analysis from the perspective of evangelical women. We cover news stories and books related to international justice and evangelism, pregnancy and sexual ethics, marriage, parenting, and celibacy, pop culture, health and body image, raising girls, and women in the church and parachurch.

Her.meneutics is edited by associate editor Katelyn Beaty and online editor Sarah Pulliam Bailey.

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August 16, 2011

Taming the Twitter Tongue

Why I'm still not tweeting.

Sharon Hodde Miller

Ever since I was little, God has been teaching me the same lesson over and over again. My growth has been slow and nearly imperceptible at times, but God has not flagged in his insistence that I learn to tame my tongue.

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The process has been painful, to say the least. I have a mortifying memory of smart-mouthing a high school teacher and a number of cringe-worthy interactions with famous people. I have grossly miscommunicated myself through e-mail, offended friends and family with too much honesty, and generally embarrassed myself by over-sharing. Over time I recognized this pattern as a real problem, so I launched a spiritual offensive against it. Drawing on Scripture for help, my prayers were shaped by verses such as Proverbs 17:28: “Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.”

Thankfully, God was faithful to answer my prayers and I have witnessed growth in this area of my life. Nevertheless, my tongue has remained an Achilles heel that I have continued to monitor closely. It is also the reason why, thus far, I have not joined Twitter.

Now I am not opposed to the tool itself, which has tremendous power to encourage believers and build up the church. The reason for my hesitancy has less to do with Twitter and more to do with human nature. The instantaneous broadcasting of spontaneous thoughts presents even the most diligent Christians with risk. Several months ago John Piper posted the tweet heard round the world, bidding farewell to Rob Bell and launching a flood of controversy. More recently, a minor Twitter kerfuffle developed between two prominent Christian authors that drew responses from their Twitter followers, including Her.meneutics. Our own re-tweeting drew subsequent criticism via tweets.

The combination of human brokenness with this particular form of social media lends itself to miscommunication. The ability to tweet at all times to hundreds of people is a dangerous power, one that Scripture actually warns about. In addition to the verse I already mentioned, Proverbs 10:19, 13:3, 18:6 and 21:23 all teach that the path of wisdom is to be found in the way of silence. The more we talk, the more likely we are to say the wrong thing.

In his work Of the Imitation of Christ, medieval monk Thomas à Kempis echoes these scriptural warnings:

“Some one has said: ‘As often as I have been in company, I have returned a less man than I went.’ We often find this when we allow ourselves to mix freely in society, and give our tongues the rein. It is much easier to be silent altogether, than to use moderation in speech . . . No one is safe in speech, who is not happy in silence.”

In his classic work Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster notes, “Willpower has no defense against the careless word, the unguarded moment.”

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Given that Twitter users post as many as 3,283 tweets per second, the high frequency of tweeting increases the potential for these “unguarded moments” that Foster described. The more we talk — and the more we tweet — the more likely we are to impart a careless word. Plus, the audience is exponentially larger and so are the consequences.

That is not, of course, a reason to reject Twitter wholesale, but it should instill us with a sense of caution. Our flesh is weak, and the repercussions of such public mistakes are far-reaching.

In addition to the increased odds of mis-tweeting, there is another reason I have been slow to join Twitter. Before I sat down to write this post, I consulted with Her.meneutics editor, Katelyn Beaty, who tweets for the blog. I asked for her response to the occasional complaints and criticisms about our tweets, and her answer was both honest and humble. She confessed, “I would be the first to admit to often writing out of a desire to be clever or to provoke response rather than to edify our followers.”

I appreciate Katelyn’s honesty because her words reflect another temptation with Twitter. Even with the best intentions imaginable, the performance component of Twitter can blur our motives. Twitter can easily become a stage with an audience of hundreds, if not thousands, of followers. And as most performers do, Twitter users can find themselves driven by their audience. The desire to be liked or found interesting eclipses the desire to be godly.

In all fairness, there is a wide spectrum between transparent ministry promotion and blatant manipulation or narcissism. I know Katelyn desires to to inspire thoughtful conversation, a goal that is hard to accomplish in fewer than 140 characters. That is why our broken human nature and the limited Twitter format require an extra measure of both wisdom and grace. I may not like what another person tweets, but it is also likely that I misunderstood her.

Twitter has redemptive potential, to be sure. This simple medium has become a tool in inspiring political revolutions, so the church can undoubtedly tap its potential for the glory of God. In fact, I suspect revolution is closer to the scale of vision we should have for such technology. Perhaps our use of Twitter is far too banal. But whatever our purpose in tweeting, let us do so Christianly, weighing the frailty of our human nature against our call to honor God in all things. Tweet with care.

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Posted by Katelyn Beaty on August 16, 2011 10:27 AM

Comments

Great insights, Sharon.
My foolproof scheme for not overtweeting: Cave-woman phone from the Flintstones era. If I have to compose something on my laptop, I'm probably thinking more clearly. Usually.

Posted By: Margot | August 16, 2011 10:42 AM

Thanks for this post, Sharon. I've been using Twitter about a month. I made a conscious decision to use it only for professional reasons: to share my own writing and the writing of others. I never do off-the-cuff tweets or share personal stuff. If I render an opinion, it's usually positive--to say that I found something valuable in something I'm tweeting a link to. Having observed some of the kerfuffles you mention here, I'm going to continue thinking proactively about anything I tweet and hope to avoid some of the pitfalls you mention. I know that my personal Achilles heel is what Katelyn mentioned: The desire for others to recognize what I write as clever or insightful. I actually find that Twitter helps rein this tendency in, compared to, say, Facebook. The 140-character limit does not allow for much editorializing.

Posted By: Ellen | August 16, 2011 10:47 AM

I used to have a small poster in my bedroom as a teenager that read "Silence is the only successful substitute for brains." I've found that I'm often smartest when quietest.

Posted By: Tim | August 16, 2011 11:01 AM

If you only use twitter for sharing links you will lose out on building relationships. If you have people, you are going to see people make mistakes. That is just part of being in community. Yes, I agree that it is a good idea to think twice and to re-read what you have said, but that is the case in all inter personal conversation.

I think the best advice is to be helpful. Try to answer questions, bring encouragement. Follow your pastor or others and then pray for them when they tweet.

Posted By: Adam Shields | August 16, 2011 11:18 AM

This may be why public figures are better off utilizing a third party to do their tweets. If Twitter is used to promote articles or books, or if you are in the eye of the public a third party is less inclined to post something questionable or embarrassing especially if they are trained in social media. Giving control over to a third party can be a trust issue, but you can also only allow tweets to which you give the final approval.

Posted By: Jan B | August 16, 2011 11:29 AM

This is a really helpful and lovely reminder of the power of all of our words, and the importance of thought. Thank you.

Posted By: Laura Ortberg Turner | August 16, 2011 11:58 AM

@Adam: I'm not sure that "building relationships" is really why people are on Twitter. I met recently with a successful fiction author to talk social media. His observation (shared by many publicists and editors and such) is that people turn to Twitter for news and Facebook for connection. In my experience with both, I concur. Most of the people I follow on Twitter, and vice versa, are people I don't know but have a professional interest in. It's very clunky to try having a conversation on Twitter, which is perhaps why some of the fraught conversations that Sharon mentions became so troublesome.

But I agree with your "be helpful" advice. I think that successful use of Twitter involves giving more than you ask for. Sharing news and info more than asking for attention. I think that's good professional advice, as well as being in line with Christian theology.

Posted By: Ellen | August 16, 2011 12:07 PM

@Ellen,

I guess different things for different people. I find that facebook is where all of my high school friends and family is. Twitter is where all the people that I want to be friends with now. I have a much closer community on twitter. I know people try to build platforms on social media. But for me, if it is just about sharing your content, I tend not to follow or pay attention to you. If it is just about content, then I will follow your RSS feed if I am interesting in your content.

I pay attention to both facebook and twitter and would not get rid of either. But twitter is where I spend most of my time.

Posted By: Adam Shields | August 16, 2011 12:47 PM

I think people are born out of the womb either having to learn to keep quiet or learn to speak up. That being said, we all have to learn to tame the tongue but I think it might be easier for some than others just because of how God made them. It took me a long time along with a nervous breakdown to quit being "sweet little Jane" and confront gently when necessary. It is a very good skill to have.

For those who speak or post without thinking maybe if they take a moment to think first or even tell themselves to wait 10 minutes before they post they might save themselves and others grief. The person who posted about all postings being helpful shared some great wisdom.

Posted By: Jane Hinrichs | August 16, 2011 1:55 PM

DUPLICATE.........................I think people are born out of the womb either having to learn to keep quiet or learn to speak up. That being said, we all have to learn to tame the tongue but I think it might be easier for some than others just because of how God made them. It took me a long time along with a nervous breakdown to quit being "sweet little Jane" and confront gently when necessary. It is a very good skill to have.

For those who speak or post without thinking maybe if they take a moment to think first or even tell themselves to wait 10 minutes before they post they might save themselves and others grief. The person who posted about all postings being helpful shared some great wisdom.

Posted By: Jane Hinrichs | August 16, 2011 1:55 PM

To be frank, I don't know what the hullabaloo is over Twitter. As someone who needs to learn to speak less, I actually find it to be a good place for me because it forces me to use brevity and choose my words carefully. On Facebook, my website, blog comments such as this one?: I am much freer to sin with my written tongue.

And I will say that Twitter is used by many people for building community.

Posted By: Laura Ziesel | August 16, 2011 2:31 PM

I'm starting to feel as though I'm looking in a funhouse mirror.

I'm reading a blog article about tweets about a blog article about tweets about a blog article about a blog article I linked to via a tweet.

Posted By: Anne S | August 16, 2011 3:46 PM

I appreciated your wisdom. Thank you for sharing.

Personally, I had always refused to get Twitter (thinking that I didn't need another social networking tool when I was already overwhelmed with the ones I had). This summer, however, my work with Safe Families for Children started using Twitter and it is proving to be a valuable tool for us!

Posted By: Callie G | August 16, 2011 10:37 PM

Fabulous post! I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I don't tweet, but I am a Facebook ..."aficionada". I find myself deleting old posts, hoping no one read them. I tend to over-share, in the spirit of candid sincerity and honesty, but recently a friend confronted me, telling me that I need to keep some things to myself. I value transparency, but I am learning that what we think are humble, honest admissions can be stumbling blocks for others.
Self-promotion is also an issue. I, too, try to be clever. I was raised to crave praise, as I was highly competitive in the arts and the main form of attention I received came after my successes, so the witty drive of social networking is especially dangerous for me. Have you ever posted or tweeted and then counted the minutes until someone responded?
I must remember that I should not boast in anything or anyone other than Christ. I should not promote myself, but the gospel.
Thank you for the reminder. It's like a confirmation of the truth God has been working into my heart.

Posted By: I said too much in this comment, too... Aye | August 16, 2011 11:04 PM

To tweet or not to tweet IS a difficult question. Like Margot, I don't have a mobile device that can tweet. So it happens at my computer or not at all.

Posted By: Rachel Stone | August 17, 2011 9:11 AM

Jan B's comments about public figures' use of Twitter via third parties is right on. I've been in corporate communications for many years, currently for a major, global corporation, and since the advent of Twitter most in the communications field have realized the pitfalls of the medium. My colleagues and I advise executives and all managers to be careful of Twitter, even though there is often significant pressure from lower-ranking staff and external customers to make use of it. And if an executive does want to use it, we insist on tweets being vetted beforehand by someone else with experience in communications. This is a practice that any pastor or other church leader should follow if they decide to use Twitter.

Posted By: S Park | August 18, 2011 2:05 PM

This is a blog about why you shouldn't tweet? Blogs are twitter for people who can't get their points across in 140 characters.

Posted By: james | August 18, 2011 8:14 PM

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