The New King of Communications

It’s called simply Twitter and it is being called the ‘Face of 21st Century News’.

Twitter is fast becoming a household word. It is basically a microblog of sorts. It is a flowing feed of real-time information online. And its constant updating of up-to-the-minute reactions has, in some instances, threatened to usurp media coverage of breaking news. And today, most news outlets now have a presence on Twitter that directs readers to their respective sites.

Ross Dawson, a communications expert, said of Twitter, “It is "the CNN of the new media generation and absolutely changes the media landscape." Andrew Keen, author of ‘The Cult of the Amateur,’ believes Twitter represents the future of both the Internet and media. But there are some down sides of Twitter – one being its reliability. Entries can be composed and spread without any accountability or proof of the presented ‘facts’. News that circulates on Twitter by constant ‘re-tweeting’ can be on the cutting edge of truth or spread lies and rumors in a very short span of time. There is also the concern that some people or governments may use Twitter to spread dangerous misinformation.

Also, the existence and use of the internet in general has had both positive and negative effects even on today’s Christians. Anyone can see that an entire generation is absolutely hooked on text messaging, Facebooking, and now Twittering. A huge percent of younger people spend an equally huge amount of their time passing largely useless information back and forth. And when anything becomes that consuming, it can become a major distraction away from things that really matter. Tweeting, typing and texting the minute details of one’s personal life to scores of so-called "friends' is beginning to occur more and more in the most inappropriate of settings - including while driving! There are now even official titles for those addicted to these activities, and new programs designed just to ease or break their ever-tightening grip.

Then, too, today’s quick and instant sound bite mentality has altered a generation’s thinking about how much time is required to get the whole truth or full opinion on any given subject. The ease and speed of gaining online information has led to a form of laziness. Digging deeper on any subject has become just too hard or seen as unnecessary when a quick sentence or two can do the job. This is quite unfortunate especially since serious study is essential for complete and meaningful understanding of the Scriptures.

The Bible was written when the communications technology, routinely used by today’s 10-year olds, would have been considered as pure fantasy. Christians of even a century ago could not have grasped it on any level. But perhaps this meant far less distractions and allowed them more precious and uninterrupted time to concentrate on Scriptural commands like seen in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Paul said to the believers, “Pray without ceasing”. That is not easily done if one’s days and nights are used to ‘text without ceasing’!

And maybe the absence of so many of today’s fascinating and habit-forming ‘toys’ allowed the early church to better apply the mandate of Ephesians 5:15-16. “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” It is hard to see how anyone addicted to texting and twittering can make the most of the crucial time God has allotted them to communicate with Him and about Him!

Technology has made possible a level of mass, and personal, communication such as the world has never known. And today nearly an entire generation is engaged in the seemingly endless sharing with most anyone who will listen. And while most of it is generally harmless, it is also often useless. Perhaps the need is for some good old-fashioned balance between the ratio of time spent offering up what is valuable and what is silly or worthless. And maybe that shift might come through a serious evaluation of the content of Jesus’ own words in Matthew 12:36-37 is in order. “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

Again, the efficiency and availabilty of modern communications has changed the world. It has translated many former dreams into useful commonplace realities. But some of these good things could become great things if more Christians would simply couple the culture's present communication opportunities with their own texting tendancies. Just imagine how great, and how etenally profitable, it could be if the church would fully redeem their time by using this new ‘Face of 21st Century News’ to share Jesus Christ - the Face of the Good News of that 1st century.

Now that is something fully and enternally worthy to 'Tweet' about!

Bill Breckenridge