I don’t know much about the internet except that everybody on it appears to be standin’ too close to a wasp nest.
Levi tried to explain Twitter to me one time, then said it was called somethin’ else now, which I took as proof the thing was already ashamed of itself.
I got a phone that rings, and tells me when Brenda has put “milk” on the grocery list three separate times. That’s enough wires in my life.
But I do cut hair for men who know all about it.
Randy Haskins came into the barbershop one Tuesday needin’ a trim and carryin’ a face like he’d swallowed a spark plug.
He sat down and said, “People can’t handle the truth no more.”
I put the cape around him, “That right?”
“It was over that school board mess,” he said, “Caleb posted somethin’ ignorant, so I corrected him.”
Caleb was Randy’s nephew. Good kid.
“What’d you say?” I asked.
Randy shrugged, “Nothin’ but facts.”
Mr. Talley was waitin’ by the magazine rack. He lowered a Field & Stream from 2009 and said, “Facts got handles. Some folks swing ’em like axes.”
Randy ignored him, and I kept cuttin’.
Turns out Randy had written a long response under Caleb’s post. Then Caleb wrote back. Then Randy answered. Then Caleb’s mama got involved. Then Randy’s sister, Donna, said he’d always thought too highly of himself. Then Randy said Donna raised boys who couldn’t change a tire without watchin’ a video.
That’s how a school board meetin’ turned into three cousins not speakin’ and one aunt cancelin’ Sunday dinner.
Randy said, “They all took it personal.”
I trimmed around his ear, “You did mention the tire thing.”
“Well, it’s true.”
“So’s a thermometer,” I said, “But I don’t stick one in a man’s eye and call it medicine.”
He looked at me in the mirror like he wanted to argue, but I had scissors near his head.
After a minute he said, “I’m just tired of everybody bein’ soft.”
I nodded, “Could be.”
The shop got quiet except for the clippers hummin’.
I thought about how Randy talks in person. He ain’t cruel. He’s a little loud sometimes, and plenty opinionated. But I’ve seen him tote groceries for widows, and once he fixed a starter in the church parkin’ lot for a fella passin’ though.
But online, from what I was hearin’, he was carryin’ on like a rooster that found a mirror.
I brushed hair off his collar, “Donna still makin’ that banana pudding?”
He frowned, “What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Nothin’, just wonderin’ if facts taste better than banana pudding.”
Randy stared at himself awhile.
Then he said, quieter, “Caleb blocked me.”
I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but it sounded like the modern way of shuttin’ a door.
I said, “Well, doors open different than they shut.”
He sighed, “You think I ought to call him?”
“I think you ought not call him to finish the argument.”
He nodded, which was different from agreein’. Sometimes it’s just a man lettin’ down his defenses.
When I finished, Randy paid and left without sayin’ much.
That evenin’, I saw him at the gas station sittin’ in his truck on the phone.
Sunday, Caleb sat with Donna two pews ahead of Randy. After church, Randy walked over and handed Caleb a socket wrench.
I don’t know what was said. Probably not enough, but families are funny that way.
Caleb took it, and nobody in the room had to click a thing.
Deciphering Emmett
Scripture treats speech as a serious matter because words reveal and guide the heart. James says the tongue is small but can set a great fire (James 3:5–6). That warning doesn’t become less true when the words are typed instead of spoken.
Randy’s mistake wasn’t that he had an opinion that was different from someone else. Christians aren’t commanded to avoid disagreement. But we are commanded to speak in a way that reflects the holiness of Christ.
“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29)
Truth isn’t a license to hurt people carelessly.
The internet removes the ordinary restraints of actual, face-to-face conversations. Meaning, we can’t see and discern things like facial expressions or tone. But God still sees the heart behind every word. Proverbs 18:21 says death and life are in the power of the tongue.
Repentance doesn’t always require some big, public speech. Sometimes it starts with declining to continue a fight and looking for peace where pride may have caused harm. Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”
In His Service,
I talk about Jesus and the Bible a lot. Sometimes on the radio, sometimes to people who willingly show up to listen. Occasionally, I write things down.
Before You Go
Word of mouth predates every distribution platform ever built and still outperforms them. When someone sends you an article, you’re more likely to take it seriously because you trust the person who sent it. So, you’re not starting from scratch, you already have a reason to give it your attention.
Most of the people who read this got here that way. Passing something along like that is still the most helpful thing you can do.
Support the Writing (if you want)
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