It’s all about me, except when it’s all about you

In comments to another post, Sophie passes along a useful set of insights from Josh Harris, via JPiper, on why sermons aren’t always best Twittered.

It got me thinking about a listen/speaking tension that sermon Twittering creates.

1. It’s all about me. The act of Tweeting assumes that there are people who care about what you are doing or thinking at that moment. Aren’t there times when we should be be quiet and just listen? He who has ears, and all that.
2. Except when it’s all about you. We all have a self-serving tendency when we hear a message that convicts us or challenges us to greater sanctification to think, “It’s too bad Joe isn’t here today; he really needed to hear this.” Twitter engages this deflecting response by turning us from listeners to messengers. As Harris said,
   

   Twitter, takes the focus off of hearing and receiving and and makes it broadcasting and sharing. So instead of my mind being engaged with thoughts of “What is the Word of God saying to me?” when I start “tweeting” my focus becomes, “What do I want to say? What do I want to express? What am I thinking?”

Sometimes when God speaks to us, the proper response is silence. From Job 40:3-5:

Then Job answered the LORD :

“I am unworthy—how can I reply to you?
I put my hand over my mouth.

I spoke once, but I have no answer—
twice, but I will say no more.”

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