I’ve noticed something interesting on social media. When you or I post a picture for public consumption – we look at it, inspect it, check what’s in the background for incriminating evidence, and we make sure the picture makes us look as good as we possibly can. Consequently, not all photographs qualify. Many pics never see the light of social media day because they make us look fat or our eyes are closed or we are having a bad hair day, etc. We are so very careful with our pictures. Our outward appearance.

But not so much with our words. We tend to let them fly without much filtering. We don’t consider every angle or how those words might make others feel. In our worst moments, we actually know that our words will upset certain people but we post them anyway. The millennials call this trolling while us older ones cite our First Amendment rights.

Why are we so careful with pictorial images we post of ourselves yet so reckless with our words on social media? Maybe one of the things we can learn as we progress through life is to become more consistent and put as much thought into our words as we do our photographs before posting. Or talking.

Love your neighbor as yourself. Protect your neighbor as yourself. Respect your neighbor as yourself. Care for your neighbor as yourself. These are not original thoughts. They’ve been around for quite a while but the power of their meaning has not diminished down through the centuries.

Bring light daily with your pictures and your words. Love people and lift them up. Even those who offend and upset you. Use words to pray for people often. Use your words wisely and choose your words carefully. Find words that encourage and inspire and use them a lot. People forget our bad selfies but our words get burned into their hearts and memories. Make them count for good.