A Way With Words

I’ve wanted to quit social media lately. Open up Facebook or Twitter and you’ll mind all manner of opinions on any issue you can imagine. I haven’t quit yet, but I’ve made good use of the unfollow and mute features.

The worst part is what happens to my heart. I want to join the fray. I want to share my perceptions of what’s right and wrong. I am part of the problem.

I can’t think of a more timely book in times like these than Daniel Darling’s A Way With Words: Using Our Online Conversations for Good.

The Beauty and Danger of Words

Darling begins by giving us a theology of words. God made us in his image; we reflect God’s image as we communicate. But words are also what led us astray. Words have power for both death and life (Proverbs 18:21).

The internet can amplify this power. A Way With Words is about how we use words online. The internet is a gift, but it also brings dangers. “The internet can make us smarter, but it can also be the equivalent of eating junk food three meals a day,” writes Darling.

We need to understand online dangers. Darling helps us wrestle with some of these, such as:

• over-reliance on devices
• confirmation bias
• social media shaming and pile-ons
• using the internet for self-promotion rather than service
• presenting a false image of ourselves
• becoming online justice warriors
• dealing with conspiracy theories

Again, could there be a more timely book?

Helpful Guidance

Darling provides some helpful guidance for us on recovering civility. He presents the “ancient and analog rhythms of church life” as “the solution for our increasing isolation in a digital age.” He sounds a timely warning:

This is why we shouldn’t race too quickly to make the church experience like every other experience during the week, why we should proceed cautiously with the assimilation of screens and pixels into our weekly liturgy. Our weekly gatherings shouldn’t be one more burden for the digitally exhausted but should serve as a place of soul rest, a rebuke of sorts to the digital gods.

We need embodied, physical worship and deep, social interaction. We need the local church.

We can use the internet for good. The place to begin is with ourselves: “How can I make my corner of the internet a better place?” Darling makes a few suggestions: “Whether your online platform is large or small, don’t make it all about you. Be free with your praise of others’ work. Share good content and ideas widely. Lift up others.”

I have a feeling I’ll be thinking about this book a lot this year. We probably can’t all quit social media. We can learn how to avoid some of its dangers, though, and prioritize the analog church. Maybe we’ll be able to redeem our part of the internet and use it to bless others. It’s worth a try.

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