“Now I, Paul, appeal to you with the gentleness and kindness of Christ—though I realize you think I am timid in person and bold only when I write from far away.”

We know the people who are all big, strong, bold and sometimes even arrogant when they are on email, text or social media, but when they are confronted face to face they back down quickly.  What is that?  It’s like there is an inner voice in us that takes over when it’s a screen we are writing to like there isn’t even a a person on the other end.  I see it so often that it’s not just a one off with people, it’s a real thing.  And, with the opportunities to “flame” with so many others doing the same now, the norms continue to erode and it is growing.  There is no perfect answer but one, we should never be that person and two, we can be helpful by going direct to remove the shield of the screen.

Imagine that Paul was thought of as being bold in his letters and less so in person? Maybe, he was but, Paul was not the person I reference above.  He was bold in his teaching and direction without crossing the line to being aggressive, disrespectful or demeaning. And more so, while maybe more timid in person, he stayed the same person in his beliefs and actions at all times. Net, he didn’t write one thing and then be another. And, that should be our goal as well…to be the same person at all times, always striving to bring glory to God in all that we do.

Reference: 2 Corinthians 10:1 (New Living Translation)