Do not gossip. Despite facetweetumlbr.

Why do these verses speak to those of us who are middle-aged? The Ancients and the men of Christendom would tell us to grow up. There is nothing more ridiculous than a person facing retirement within the next decade or so[1] thinking he is the age of the children he had in his late thirties.

But the passions of the young seem to rule our society. The use of insults: the exquisite sense they are right and all have to change to be around them, and our society sees all too often people let their passions run away from them, causing disaster. For the favoured ones, this is seen as godly and good: the elite must be angry, must be passionate, regardless of the cost of broken people, while the peasants must discipline themselves in all things.

As if the leadership should not by example lead. There is a name for that, and it is decadence. And Paul says there is no place for that in the Kingdom of God.

Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honourable use, some for dishonourable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonourable, he will be a vessel for honourable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

(2 Timothy 2:14-26 ESV)

Let’s ignore the anger and desire and passion. These things are real, and cause significant damage, but for most of our society, the fun police are truly out. If you are male, being promiscuous can lead you to the modern sexual assault charge, from which there is no defence, and violence leads to imprisonment and the loss of one’s family once the social welfare system has ground your parenthood to dust.

We all struggle here.

But my besetting problem is my sarcasm. The snark. Mainly on twitter, because brevity is close to wit. For others it is facebook, which they do not use to build up, but to drag down. For others, it is Tumblr, which they use for campaigns against those they think are not “correct” enough. And in doing that we forget what is good.

It is the nature of human beings to focus on the negative. It’s like second nature. I do it too. I issue challenges to myself to go for extended periods without uttering a complaint, or even an “observation” that could be construed as a complaint. I often fail miserably, but I’m getting better every day.

We allow the negative moments in our day to outweigh all but the most life-changing positive moments in our life. And that only if we’re fortunate and conscious. What’s more is that we tend to enjoy swapping “war” stories. Misery loves company and all that good stuff.

Timothy is being told to be serious, to be gentle, to correct, to teach, to encourage, and to preach as much by his actions as his words. We are not called into freedom to sling ordure at each other, or to wallow in our vices.

We are called to love, to faith, and to hope. We are called to do good and preserve that which is noble.

And we should consider these things, not what is the scandal of the tweetverse or the media this day. Social media, as a tool, we need to wisely use, lest it become a pit of gossip and complaint, blinding us to the truly good.

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1. The “official” retirement age is 65 in New Zealand. The Medical Workforce assumes, however, that one will work until 70. My father and Grandfather were both working at 80. Retirement will become a disability pension fairly soon, for most Western states have let their transfer payments bankrupt them.