12 I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete. (2 John 12)
John was a smart man. You know what I thought about as I read that -- social media and email. I remember a good friend showing me an email received from an employee. I told him, "He's got to know that's inappropriate over email." He's just got to. He didn't. Many don't. Facebook, Twitter, and email aren't the place to have serious conversations that require voice inflection and body language. What John said in the 2 John was important, but I'll bet he saved the biggest stuff for face to face interaction.
When we use electronic means to hash out conflict, we show our immaturity. Moreover, we put dirty laundry in writing, where it can never be taken back and can be read over and over again. I'll bet that's what John was dealing with. The letter, though addressed to a church, is good generic teaching. He left the personal stuff out. It needed to be dealt with, it just didn't need to be written down for the whole world to see.
As long as there are people in the world, there will be conflict. It's just part of life. We make it worse when we get into juvenile arguments over email or on the Internet. This is not the way of maturity. John made it clear there was a better way. The next time you have something really, really important to talk about, use social media and email to set-up a face to face meeting -- don't use it to spill your guts. That usually never works. We can learn from John.
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