Just a little bit more…

Though we have had Tatumfam for 3 years, there are seasons where I waver & seriously think through what types of things I post about here. There is “more to me” than our little ones, our house, our projects, our minibooks, our photography. There are things we do as a family, ministries we are passionate about & give our money to, people & places where we invest our time–and all of that never gets mentioned on this blog.

If I did post deeper, more spiritual, more opinionated posts, I know truly in my heart it would simply be because I feel the need to prove myself, explain myself, defend myself, to the world–friends, family, strangers, those who do not understand us, those whom I wish to understand us more. That is nothing more than pride: to have a need for everyone to really know, to have a need for everyone to see a clear picture of us. I cannot give in to that motive! That is not the right reason to post. {Again, this is MY reason–I would never presume to know your personal reason for what you post on your own blog! Please do  not misread my words!} When it comes down to it, it does not matter how “accurately” everyone sees me, or even if they assume things about me that are not true; it does not matter that everyone knows “why” we do what we do. It only matters that God knows me deeply, intimately, the good & noble motives, the impure & selfishly ambitious motives. He is the only one who sees me truly, accurately–I do not even see myself accurately. I cannot prove anything to God, He sees in full; and so my only defense I must make to God is that I need more of Jesus, not more of me & my opinions. Because I have Christ, and my value & worth rests solely in Him, I do not have a need to prove, defend, justify, explain, or air my opinions!

Here are some quotes from articles that have really helped me strike a balance between what we do & do not share on here.

When do you feel good about yourself? In this very moment in your day, where are you seeking to find your satisfaction? Is it getting all your to-do list’s item done? When the children have behaved for you during your visit to the store? When people ask for and value your opinion and input? When you are promoted? When you feel loved and cherished by your spouse?

When our eyes are on ourselves and our inner cravings for approval are found in our own doings, accomplishments, and successes, we have lost sight of the gospel. As wives and mothers, it is easy to get depressed and discouraged because we are setting out hope on our own accomplishments, and not on the truth of the gospel. Did my child yell at me? Then I have failed as a mother. Did I only get one thing done on my to-do list? Then I have failed as a homemaker.

Where should your eyes be? Upon that beautiful Savior who suffered and died for you. We must cling to the truth that his love is ours right now – in this very moment – fully, completely, and unalterably ours. His approval of you is not based upon your performance, your goodness, your success…it is all based upon His undying love for us.

(Finding Your Identity in Christ, Passionate Homemaking)

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Throughout the history of public theological debate, there was one constant—those debates only took place between a few select people—Moses, Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, and so on—who gained respect through a lifetime of scholarship.

But the invention of social media, like blogs, Twitter, and Facebook, created a radical departure in communication. In pre-2004 Christianity (that is, Christianity before Facebook was invented), only a small group of Christian leaders and teachers had access to the printing press—but today everyone has WordPress. In pre-2004 Christianity it was difficult to become a published author, but today everyone is surrounded by dozens of “Publish” buttons.

Every time we log into Facebook it asks us, “What’s on your mind?” Twitter wants to know, “What’s happening?” When controversies large and small erupt, there are devices in every direction begging us to not just take a side, but to declare our position on the largest publishing platform ever constructed by humanity.

What few of us realize is that when we press those “Publish,” “Post,” “Comment,” and “Send” buttons, we are making the shift away from merely “believing” truth and stepping into the arena of publishing that belief. In doing so we are effectively assuming a position of leadership and teaching that prior to 2004 was not available to us.

James warned us, “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1, NIV1984). James goes on to graphically portray the incredible power that our tongues have both to praise and to curse especially in the context of teaching. He then says, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life.” (James 3:13). Solomon echoes similar wisdom, “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent” (Prov. 17:28).

Yet Facebook and Twitter do not encourage this kind of self-restraint. In fact, they encourage an opposing value system. Social media relentlessly asks us to publish our personal opinions on anything and everything that happens. There is no time for reflection in prayer, no place for discussion with other flesh and blood image bearers, and no incentive to remain silent.

You must declare your position, and you must declare it now.

We convince ourselves that by answering the questions social media asks us we are standing for truth alongside the great leaders of the church, but slowly and subtly as we respond to the prompts of our phones rather than our Bibles we begin to worship the false gods of immediacy, distraction, and celebrity in the Temple of Lord Zuckerberg. If you don’t think the value system of technology affects you, ask yourself, If it was 2003 and some author wrote some book questioning some doctrine would I have felt compelled to publish my thoughts?

Not Many of You Should Presume to Be Bloggers, Christianity Today

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It never seems very sinful when we’re writing from our heart, striking a few keys and, pushing “post.” No one’s there to give us feedback and we’re just happy we said what we wanted to say. That’s why Christian bloggers need a generous dose of humility. The nature of blogging implies that I think I have something worth saying. That’s misleading. The ability to post my thoughts on the Internet is no guarantee that I have any idea what I’m talking about.

Finally, we need to examine our motives for blogging. Sometimes my motives are godly, sometimes not. Often they’re mixed.

God’s words to us in James are relevant to blogging:

“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.” (James 3:13-15)

The two motives we are called to fight here are bitter jealousy and selfish ambition. Bitter jealousy is grieving that I don’t have what someone else has — a cooler site design, more links, more comments, more visitors. It’s when I only want God to be glorified through ME, and don’t naturally rejoice when he chooses to use someone else.

Selfish ambition is similar to bitter jealousy, only more blatant. I want to be approved, applauded, admired. I want people to say kind things about me, whether or not I actually deserve it. I fear any kind of correction or feedback because it appears as though I’ve said or done something wrong. At root, selfish ambition is challenging God for the right to be worshiped. Sadly, it can motivate what we write.

Blogging to Worship God, Bob Kauflin

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Not to mention, one of the most convicting realizations I’ve come to is that blogging may just fuel in us (and by “us”, of course, I mean “me”) a need to articulate everything.  I wonder sometimes if our culture is veering away from the very fine art of simply keeping some things to ourselves.  Sometimes the best words are the ones we don’t say.  

But there is undendiable part of blogging that feeds a part of us (me) that is, perhaps, not the most sensible part: the part that craves to “measure” ourselves, the part that is naturally drawn to a false sense of urgency, the part that needs to be heard even when there’s not really anything to say. 

No, Really, I’m Fine, Shannon @ Rocks in My Dryer