Real Communication

Dear friends, although I was eager to write you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write and exhort you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all. - Jude 3

How many emails do you get every day? There was a time, not so much anymore, when some would boast about how full their inbox was when they returned from a day off. Of course, that was before "smart" phones allowed us to keep up (even while "vacationing").

While some may receive about 50 emails a day, I know others who receive up to 300 or more! Of course, many of the messages that come to our inboxes go immediately to a junk file and are deleted. Others may be "forwards" that we go ahead and delete (for fear of viruses). Still others are from subscription lists. We may even receive a few from people who are honestly trying to communicate! Imagine that!

Jude, unlike many "e-mailers" today, actually had to consider what he wanted to say before he said it. In today's cyber-culture, it would be a good idea for more folks to take that approach before hitting the "send" button! Email is a wonderful tool, but we shouldn't use it as a substitute for real communication. Encouragement, like a rebuke, is best delivered face to face.

This is a free country. Folks have a right to send me letters, and I have a right not to read them. - William Faulkner